Kyou Kara Wagamama Pu
by seamusog
Summary: Yuuri makes a wish on a fortune telling machine. Next day, he wakes up in Wolfram's body while Wolfram wakes up with the Maou in his head trying to get into his pants. Maou!YuuriXWolfram, Wolfyuu/Yuuram
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Maruma in any way, shape or form.

**Written for:** **charille**  
**Original Request:** Fic please. Maou!YurixWolf gay-ish something. So that is incorporates... um... plants. Talking plants. Yes. Humor/Romance/Drama is fine. Angst = /3 Thank you very much.  
**Summary:** Yuuri makes a wish on a fortune telling machine. Next day, he wakes up in Wolfram's body while Wolfram wakes up with the Maou in his head trying to get into his pants.  
**A/N:** For those following Yuuri's Travels, no I haven't abandoned that fic (it's my ultimate fic that is very dear to my heart), I've just been stuck on the fifth arrival and one scene just refuses to get written. I blame it on the shiny shiny Wolfyuu scenes in the latest episodes. In the meantime, I hope this fic holds you over (10 chapters already completed).

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**Kyo Kara Wagamama Pu**

**Prologue**

**--A Gorgeous Frenchman in a Swiss Restaurant--**

When she walked in the room, everyone, men and women, turned to admire her. And what was there not to admire. She had long slender legs that carried an elegant figure, red hair gathered at the top then cascaded down her back all the way down to her pert behind, and the brightest blue eyes this side of the pond. But it wasn't all this that made everyone gaze at her with a certain longing. Her face held a beauty that seemed out of this world. That sort of exquisite loveliness should only be found in the imaginary worlds of the Elysian Fields. It seemed out of place in this ordinary mortal world.

I was about to approach her (pretty as she was, I wasn't worried, after all, I myself had dated A-list models) when her companion walked in. He had an ordinary sort of face, tan, older, late fifties I'd say. His hair was still mostly black except for the streaks of white above the ears. I would mock him as being an over-the-hill man trying to recapture youth with his dark sunglasses but for the aura of power that surrounded him. I sat back down admitting defeat. So that's the kind of man this unearthly beauty preferred.

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**Chapter 1**

**--Yuuri--**

Murata and I stared at the old-fashioned fortune telling machine. It was one of those that I had seen in an American movie about a kid that wished to be big. Except instead of Zoltar, it was a plant with a big giant bulb that looked like a cross between a rosebud and a Venus fly trap with big fat lips. Wasn't there another movie that had one of these?

"Little Shop of Horrors" my genius friend from the prestigious high school responded to my unasked question.

"Ah, I see," I replied, "Is this the new fad now? Putting mixed-up paraphernalia from American movies from the eighties?"

"It's the only one of its kind I've seen so far," he said as he put a 100 yen coin in. Several light bulbs flashed in sequential order and the "See Your Future" sign lit up. Murata grabbed the small piece of white cardboard that fell down in the bottom receptacle and read it. He smiled and showed it to me.

It read, "You will marry the man of your dreams and have seven children."

"Perhaps they should make the fortunes gender neutral," I pointed out. "I told you, you'd be wasting your money."

"How do you know I won't marry the man of my dreams?"

I looked at him quizzically. Sometimes, I couldn't tell when he was teasing and when he was serious.

"Live a little," he continued. "Since I got my fortune, you're going to have to get yours also. Maybe you'll get to marry the man of your dreams too."

Hah! Only if the man of my dreams was the super-bishonen Wolfram von Bielefeld who was currently in another world probably beating up his personal guards during training or painting god-awful pictures with equally god-awful smelling paint.

Man of my dreams? What was I saying?

"Hey, isn't that Hashimoto?" Murata exclaimed nodding towards the entrance of the arcade which was behind this fortune telling machine.

I crouched unconsciously making myself as invisible as possible. Not that it mattered, unless she has X-ray vision, it would be impossible for her to see me. Hashimoto Asami-san was a nice girl who attended a prestigious high school like Murata. I couldn't really say anything bad about her. In fact, I would even say that she was cute. Not in the same level of cuteness as Wolfram. Well, no one was on the same level of cuteness as him, I had yet to meet anyone on Earth whose beauty brought men back from the brink of death. So trying to compare Hashimoto to him would be unfair.

Murata looked back at me and smiled, "I'm going to say hello, are you coming?"

"Um... I need to get my fortune first you know," I replied.

"Are you avoiding her?"

"No, no, of course I'm not. But you know if she sees me she'll want to drag me all over the place. And we really should be getting back to Shin Makoku. If I'm late again, Wolfram is going to be mad."

Wolfram was very particular when it came to the location of his fiancé. Me, being that fiancé. Never mind that we're both boys. He made a habit of getting angry at my supposed faithlessness. I didn't like getting Wolfram angry. Angry Wolfram usually resulted in a sore and bruised Yuuri. Therefore, I tried to make it my constant goal to keep the spoiled ex-prince content and mollified.

I stuck the 100 yen coin in as Murata walked away calling her name.

"So... you don't think I'm such a waste of money anymore?" a sonorous voice said.

One might say I jumped out of my skin in surprise. There was no one around that could have said that. I looked behind me and saw that the bank of games were empty. I let my eyes surreptitiously scan the area without turning my head. I had a vague feeling of dread. It was that same feeling I got when I was young, the one that came after watching too many horror flicks, and after realizing that I was the only one left downstairs, knowing I was going to be the one that would have to turn off the lights. My young self knew in the back of my head that as soon as I flipped the switch, the zombies would come ambling for me.

There were no zombies here and it was still daytime. I breathed a sigh of relief. It had to be one of the games saying it.

I looked at the fortune telling machine, and waited for the red incandescent bulbs to flash. Nothing happened. I checked the bottom receptacle. No little card with ominous fortunes. I checked the return coin receptacle and retrieved my coin. "I wonder if it's broken," I said to myself.

"No, I'm not. Just wanted to give you a chance to back out and save you some money."

This time I literally jump. Not out of my skin. But a few feet in the air and a few feet back. I stumbled and landed on my backside looking up at the green bulb with the fat lips which was staring down at me from behind the glass. Staring was a relative term. It had no eyes. But I had a feeling that it was indeed glaring.

"Um... you..." No this was not happening. I was on Earth. This was not Shin Makoku. There were no flying skeletons here. And there certainly were no talking plants here. Unless this was a movie.

I looked up at the ceiling, up at the corners. It was a bit dark, was that a camera I saw? Yes, that was it. It had to be. The Japanese were well-known for their strange penchant for game shows designed to embarrass the hell out of participants.

"Okay. You got me," I said, my voice sounding unnaturally loud. "You can come out now."

I stood up and leaned casually on the machine. As casually as a freaked-out teenager could manage.

"Nice plant," I smiled tentatively. My voice didn't even break.

"Sure, I am," it countered sarcastically. "Who are you asking to come out?"

"You... and... and the rest of your cronies. Of course."

"My cronies?!" it managed to snort despite the lack of nasal passages. "There's only me and I'm already out. As you can see. You're not blind as well as wimpy, are you?"

"Hey, you're not the one allowed to call me that!" I blurted.

I growled and rub my head in frustration. I cried out loudly again to the wall and ceiling for the pranksters to come out.

"Just come out already. I said you got me, okay? I'm sure Mom would love seeing my face on TV. But you're not getting else out of me, so why don't you just move on to your next victim."

"Look," the plant said, "we could go on and on for the next hour. Why don't we just pretend that I'm really a talking plant, okay? Then you could get your fortune and go on with your life and I can go on with mine."

"You're a rather mouthy plant."

Its only response was air kisses. Wonderful, not only a talking plant, but a wise guy too.

"Fine, fine," I said. "I don't have time to waste on you guys anyway."

"Well, you want your fortune or not?"

Before I answered, I surreptitiously peeked towards the entrance. Hashimoto and Murata were still standing there talking. No help for it.

"Sure, why not."

"You're enthusiasm is overwhelming. Now, I can finally accomplish the culmination of my life's work. My creators would be oh so proud that I, a humble plant, could serve you, oh great one."

"Do you have to go on and on with that sardonic tone of voice? Are you going to give me my fortune or not?"

"This is not for free, you know."

"A bit mercenary, aren't we?"

"Hey, it's not like I'm not doing an honest day's work here! There are bills to be paid like electricity and the rent in this place is not cheap. And you know, I have to eat too."

A scene of the Little Shop of Horror's plant singing about eating people pop in my head. I asked, "You don't drink human blood, do you?"

"Ew, that's disgusting, why would you think that?"

"Um... nothing," I said as I slipped the 100 yen coin in.

The lights start flashing. Then they stopped.

"Just wanted to pause for a bit there to let you know," it said, "I like sweets."

"Well, next time I'm here I'll bring you something."

"Good, I'll hold you to that." It actually grinned displaying two rows of sharp teeth.

The lights finish flashing and the "See Your Future" sign lit up. I grabbed the card from the receptacle. It was red.

"Ooohhh... you got the red one!" he commented.

"Do the red ones mean they're bad?" I asked apprehensively as the squawks of bad omen birds echoed in my head.

"Hmph, not at all. They're special though."

I read the card. It said, "Tomorrow, you will receive whatever you wished for today".

"A free wish? I don't even get my fortune that says I'll marry the man of my dreams?"

"Well, if what you want is the man of your dreams..."

"Eh! No! No! Really... It's alright. If this is real, I'll probably just wish for the Seibu Lions to win their next game."

"There's a waste of a wish," it said in a snotty tone.

"Why? Do you know that they're going to win?" Perhaps I could make a bet with my classmates if I knew the final score.

"Why would I know something like that?"

"Because," I said slowly emphasizing each word, "you are a fortune telling machine."

"It'll cost you 100 yen."

"That's alright, I think I'll wait to watch the game."

"Cheapskate!"

I ignore this remark and peek out again. The two were still standing there. When were they going to finish? Murata and I needed to get to the park fountain soon or I would be suffering Wolfram's domestic abuse as soon as I get back.

"If it's not the man of your dreams you want," the plant teased, "then it must be the woman of your dreams. Is that who that is and you're just being shy?"

"Huh? Oh no, I'm just waiting for them to finish," I replied.

"Why are you hiding from her?"

"I'm not hiding... okay, I am hiding. It's not that I don't like her. But I have an appointment to keep and my friend is waiting. He's rather impatient... and violent. Violently impatient, you might say."

"Why would you want a friend like that?" it asked.

"He's not that bad. Actually, he's very close to me. And he cares about me a lot. And I care about him. He's always pushing me to do my best. Never settling for half-hearted attempts. You could almost say, I'd be lost without him. I just wish sometimes that he would understand me more. I think it would help with lessening his explosive tantrums."

If I only knew that conversing with talking wisecrack plants who tell fortunes and grant wishes would cause a great deal of trouble, I would have let Hashimoto drag me all over the place and suffer through Wolfram's violent show of affection.

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tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:** Yuuri wakes up

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**Chapter 2**

**--Yuuri--**

I woke up on Wolfram's side of the bed the next morning. That in itself was not unusual. Not with bedmates like mine. I would probably start worrying if they actually stayed in the same position throughout the night. It usually signaled something very wrong. And I didn't like it when things were out of place.

I grunted loudly as a leg hit me right in the middle of the stomach. I love my daughter, I really do. But she was growing fast and strong. Strong. There was no doubt about that. And she seemed to be gaining more and more of Wolfram's habits as she grew older. Like sleeping wildly in bed. I didn't recall her being this terrible when I first adopted her.

I removed the errant leg and put my hands underneath her to position her better so she's not kicking me. That was when I noticed that Wolfram wasn't in bed. That in itself was also not unusual. It just meant that he ended up on the floor.

After repositioning Greta beside me, I looked for my wayward fiancé. Okay, he wasn't on this side. Not by the foot of the bed either. I threw myself across the lower part of the mattress and looked down on the floor at the other side. No blond bishonen. Strange. Was he up already? He and Greta usually lingered in bed while I took off for my morning run.

I looked at my watch. Okay, who took my trusty G-shock? Or did I take it off? No. I lifted a pink sleeve all the way up to my elbow. No watch there. I did the same for the other pink sleeve. Not there either.

I was missing my watch and the blond tempest. I might as well get up. It couldn't be that late yet. Normally, Conrad would wake me up for my morning run. And if he wasn't at Blood Pledge Castle, then my melodramatic tutor would.

I opened the door and asked one of the guards to have someone bring me my running outfit. My voice sounded weird and my legs felt cold. I hoped I wasn't catching a cold.

After the guard's acquiescence, I closed the door and proceeded to the adjoining bathroom.

_...Wait a minute! Did he just say?_ No. I had to have been hearing things. He did not just address me as 'Your Excellency'.

Before I could get to the bathroom, my daughter sat up and looked at me sleepily.

"Wolfram..." she said sluggishly then gave out a big yawn. "Did I oversleep?"

"No, Greta. I think Wolfram just left early. Perhaps, he wanted to get a head start for his trip. Why don't you go back to sleep?"

I wasn't even fully awake yet, and I was sure she wasn't either. However, she got a strange look on her face that made me stop what I was doing. I went and sat down on the bed instead. I put my hand over her forehead. This was what parents do, right? It was what Wolfram did whenever he thought I was acting weird.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked with concern.

"I... I'm not really sure," she answered. "Are you feeling okay?"

She was so cute when she was trying to be an adult. "Yes, I feel fine. I'm about to go for my daily run but I seem to be missing my watch, but I'm sure I just misplaced it."

"When did you start running everyday?" she asked with a tone of surprise.

My brows knitted themselves into a worried frown. "You know I always run everyday."

The knock at the door interrupted what Greta was about to say. I was expecting it to be Conrad but instead it was one of the maids bringing my running suit. Or more specifically, Wolfram's suit.

"Is something wrong, Your Excellency?" the maid asked as she watched me stare at the clothes. Never mind that she addressed me incorrectly; I wasn't like Wolfram who was very particular when it comes to proper etiquette.

I shook my head not wanting her to feel bad about getting me the wrong clothes and addressing me with the wrong honorific. Wolfram and I wore the same size and he had worn my clothes before (including my underwear, not that I liked advertising that) so it was no big deal. Speaking of clothes, this was when I realized why my legs felt cold. I was wearing Wolfram's nightgown. Many possibilities flashed in my head. Some scarier than others. Well, it wasn't a mystery that was going to solve itself that very second.

Before the maid left, I asked her where Conrad was. She gave me a strange look, the same kind of look Greta gave me earlier. I wondered for a moment if everyone in the castle was coming down with the Shin Makoku version of the flu. Perhaps that was why my voice sounded funny and why I was wearing Wolfram's clothes. She shook her head and the moment passed.

"I believe His Excellency is currently on his morning run," she informed me. "Is there anything else you needed, Lord Wolfram?"

"Yes, where is he?" I asked.

"Um..." she said confused. "His Excellency?"

"Yes, have you seen him?"

"Well..." she paused as if she was trying to figure out what I was asking her. Perhaps I should have been clearer, like asking, _where is the proud, blond, beautiful third son of the ex-Maou?_

"His Excellency is currently on his daily morning run," she finally said enunciating each word carefully.

When did Wolfram start going on a daily run? I wasn't going to ask her. It looked like she had already reached her limit of questioning for the day. So instead, I just nodded thanks.

"I wonder if she needs a vacation," I wondered out loud after she left.

"Why?" Greta asked.

"She seemed a little off this morning. Perhaps it's the stress of her work. Cleaning the castle day in and day out. I think I would probably get bored pretty quickly."

"She just came back from seeing her family," Greta said. "And she looked fine to me." She paused and gave me another weird look before continuing, "On the other hand, are you sure you're feeling fine?" Then she mimicked my earlier action and put a hand on my forehead. She was just too cute!

"Greta, fathers are supposed to worry about their daughter. Not the other way around," I said as I give her a tight hug. "Tell you what, we'll go play baseball later today and I'll hit a few home runs for you to prove I'm fine. How about that? Wolfram is doing border patrols today so we don't have to worry about him."

"O-kay," she said in a very serious voice. She patted my hand and gave me a look that said she was humoring me, "I'll go get dressed and I'll see you at breakfast alright?"

As she opened the door, Conrad walked in.

"There you are Conrad, I thought you went running--" I never finished the sentence because the person who followed Conrad into the room was none other than myself.

This explained the abnormality of this morning: the missing watch, the funny voice, the guards and the maid addressing me as 'Your Excellency', the weird looks, the nightgown.

I didn't panic. Maybe for three seconds I panicked. But I quickly got over it. Firstly, this was Shin Makoku where strange things were the norm. Secondly, I had experienced this 'out of body and into somebody else's body' ordeal previously with my older brother. Wolfram had to be in my body and all we needed to do was figure out a way to exchange minds, preferably without Anissina's intervention. The difficulty was I really didn't understand how I undid the first brain mix. I just sort of winged it. I guess I would just wing this also.

I heard our daughter whisper to Wolfram-in-my-body before leaving, "Yuuri, I don't think Wolfram is feeling well."

_Wow, this body has really good hearing._ No wonder Wolfram always knew what I was up to.

"Wolfram, if you're not feeling well, I'll let Gwendal know. I'll take over your mission," Conrad said helpfully.

Wait a minute. Something was odd in what Conrad said.

"Wolf, I know how you get when it comes to your duty," Wolfram-in-my-body added, "but you know how I worry about you. Just this once, perhaps, you'd stay." Then he gave me the look.

Wait a minute there. I just got the look from myself. That was the wide-eyed innocent look that Wolfram accuses me of using on him whenever I wanted something.

"Uh... yeah," I finally muttered. "Thanks Conrad."

Conrad gazed at me worriedly before he left.

"You really must not be feeling well," my companion said as he guided me back to the bed. "You didn't even put up any fight. Wait here okay and I'll have the guards get Gisela."

Okay, something was really, definitely, indubitably wrong here. Conrad, my name-giver, who knew me even before birth, who could always tell what I was up to, who had a sixth-sense of my whereabouts, who realized that Shouri and I traded bodies before anyone else -- _that_ Conrad didn't sense that there was something wrong with Yuuri. Not me Yuuri, but the other Yuuri. The one that looked like Yuuri. The one that's suppose to have Wolfram's mind. How could he not sense I wasn't in my body and that I was in this one? Wolfram couldn't pretend to be anything other than himself. He couldn't have fooled Conrad.

But Wolfram-in-my-body was not acting like Wolfram at all. He was acting like me. No, that could not be right. It was clear that I was in Wolfram's body, therefore, someone else had to be in my body.

_I think I am Yuuri therefore I am Yuuri._ Wasn't that how it went?

I grabbed my arms (Yuuri's arms not Wolfram's arms that I was using to hold onto... this was hell of a lot confusing). I hold onto my companion's arms before he could move away.

"Wolfram," I said staring into the black pupils as if they were the proverbial windows to the soul and I was determined to find out who was in there. It had to be Wolfram. "Wolfram! Answer me," I said as I shook him. "You're in there, right Wolf. Look all we need to do is undo this. It shouldn't be that hard. Maybe, all we need to do is go to Earth and the dimensional traveling will flip us back..."

There was worry in his eyes. And pity. _Wolfram, why are you pitying me? What am I, a dying man?_

No, not a dying man. Just a sick one.

"You..." Wolfram-in-my-body or whoever-in-my-body that suspiciously acted very much like me emphasized the word, "you are Wolfram. Wolf, do you remember where you are, who you are, who I am?"

"You're Oda Nobunaga," I replied. Well that surprised Yuuri-that-was-not-Yuuri-who-may-or-may-not-be-Wolfram.

He frowned and asked, "Where did you learn about Nobunaga?"

_Where did __you__ learn about Nobunaga?_ I queried silently.

"Why? Who is Oda Nobunaga?" I asked. Why not, Wolfram wouldn't really know. This was a test of the Yuuri broadcasting system. If he did not pass then we could switch and go to our regularly scheduled programming.

"He's... he's a major daimyo from the Sengoku period of Japanese history. A daimyo is a territorial lord, similar to the Ten Nobles here in Shin Makoku."

I was flabbergasted. No, I was not flabbergasted about Nobunaga. I was flabbergasted that Wolfram-in-Yuuri's-body knew who he was.

Alright, I could buy that Wolfram studied Japanese history while I spent time at school and he was stuck at the house. I mean he couldn't possibly have spent every single minute talking about wedding dresses with my mother. And he was not the type that would pine away for his beloved. He was a man of action, not a man who sighs dramatically into a handkerchief. That would be Günter.

"I'm really getting worried about you," Yuuri-that-cannot-possibly-be-me said.

_You and me both pal._

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tbc...

**A/N:** Who could that possibly be in Yuuri's body? Next chapter: Wolfram wakes up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Thank you for all the reviews, I appreciate all of them. This chapter: Wolfram wakes._  
_

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**Chapter 3**

**--Wolfram--**

Sometimes I had these frightening lucid dreams right before I wake up. They happened especially when I was anxious about getting up on time for events of terrible importance. It happened a great deal during the war with humans whenever I had a suspicion that either of my brothers was going to head to the battlefield.

In those dreams, I would wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast and hurry over to the throne room willing myself to walk in dignified strides even though my heart was beating fast and loud inside my chest. The corridors would be unusually long and I worried that I wouldn't reach the throne room in time. I would suppress a sigh of relief when my hands finally touched the large double wooden doors. After entering the large chamber, I would realize that I was dreaming because Conrart would be smiling the way he did in our youth before I stopped calling him brother. Then it would happen all over again: wake up, get dressed, breakfast, throne room, Conrart's smile. But with each iteration I would recognize the dream earlier and earlier until my dream-self was angrily yelling at my unconscious mind to get up. That was when the fear took hold -- the dread that I was never going to wake up and I would be forever trapped in that terrible dream loop.

Someone was trying to shake me awake. I moved my shoulder away from their grasp and grumbled, "A few more minutes. I'm still sleepy."

Very few would dare try and disturb my slumber. This particular person shook me even harder, I grumbled louder. He shook harder. I almost pitied him as I called the elements. But before I could throw a fireball at him, he called out, "Your Majesty, it's time for our daily run."

I dispelled the elements, opened my eyes and turned. I was surprised to find Conrart.

"Conrart! Why--"

His figure suddenly blurred, I rubbed my eyes and when I looked at him again, he was gone.

_Am I dreaming?_

I had not decided that it was indeed a dream even when Yuuri's arm landed on my stomach or even when he snuggled up to me. But when he licked my ear, and his hand moved purposely to an area that real Yuuri would not yet dare touch, there was no doubt. This was a dream.

"Wolfram, thou art the most beautiful creature in this world or any other," dream Yuuri whispered breathlessly in my ear.

My nightgown vanished and his finger was drawing circles near the ties of my underwear, teasing me. "Y-Yuuri..." I moaned breathlessly.

"Ah, my beloved, thy moans art the songs of sirens. Nay, they are nothing compare to thee. Let me drown in the sweetness of thy voice. Let me caress thee in thy secret places and bury myself deep in thy love. Let us become one as no two people before us nor after us could ever hope to become."

_What is with this formal tone and this overly extravagant and ornate way of speaking?_ My dream Yuuri would never speak like this unless I was dreaming of him dealing out justice. No my regular dream Yuuri was shy and innocent and blushes at my suggestive glances.

"Oh, is that what thou desires?" dream Yuuri said and then his demeanor changed. "I-is this what y-you want, Wolf?" he asked in an apprehensive voice and looked at me with big wide innocent eyes.

"Well," I said with difficulty as I try not to picture me pushing him down and having my perverted way with him, "It's not that. E-either way is fine... No! I meant _neither_ is fine."

"Why?" he replied with the most adorable pout I could imagine. Then he licked my nipple. It was with supreme effort, but I managed to throw him as far away from me as possible.

"Wimp," I said trying to rid of all my lustful thoughts, "I'm not in my own room. We're in the royal chamber, remember? With Greta. This is not the time to be having carnal dreams and getting a stiff member."

I never permitted myself any ero-ero dreams as Yuuri called them in the royal bedchamber. Especially, not when our daughter was sleeping with us. I reserved those types of fantasies when I was safe in my own room and Greta was in her own room and Yuuri was on Earth. Otherwise, it was strictly off-limits. I wasn't ready to explain the reproductive process to my young daughter. I would like to postpone that as far into the future as possible. In fact, if it was at all possible (and I was pretty sure Yuuri would agree) I would prefer that she stayed our sweet little princess for the rest of our lives. Plus, from Yuuri's bumbling half-protestations, he himself was not yet ready for that kind of intimacy.

"B-but Wolf, I am ready," dream Yuuri pleaded, "let me just touch you."

He didn't wait for an answer, he cruised his palm on the inside of my thigh parting my traitorous legs which opened up to him quite easily. He seated himself between them and pushed me down on the bed. This dream Yuuri was certainly very aggressive.

"Good, see, it's not so difficult," he said in a low voice as he crushed his lips onto mine. My lips parted to protest which was a very bad decision on my part because he took that as an invitation to shove his tongue into my mouth.

_Oh Yuuri, I wish you would be grown-up enough for us to do this_.

Damn! This was only a dream! I pushed dream Yuuri again and yelled, "No! No! No! No!"

I stumbled. Thankfully, I was quick enough to recover before I could fall flat on my face. I found myself in the courtyard, fully dressed in the training clothes that Yuuri used to exercise. I noted that the stripes were blue instead of red.

"Your Majesty, are you alright," my brother's voice drifted to my ear.

I looked up at Conrart puzzled. This must be my brain's way of dousing my lust with cold water. I suppose this should work. It must be a memory from my youth when my brother was training me. I hated running and he was a terrible task master. He used to make me run everyday and he would call me "Your Highness" to goad me.

"I'm fine!" I said in a petulant voice.

He gave me a quizzical look before his figure blurred and completely vanished.

_No. No. No. Conrart come back. I'll run with you for hours if you want and I won't complain._

It was no use. I found myself on a field of flowers and someone behind me had molded himself to my body. I could feel every inch of him. Every hard inch. He was licking my neck and his hand slipped under my shirt making its way to the sensitive parts of my body.

"That was rather unfair, my beloved, my darling, sweetest of sweets, I drown in thy beauty. Art thou an angel sent down from heaven to sooth my soul? Or art thou an incubus sent to tempt me with thy honeyed lips and delectable body? Does it matter? Nay, for I shall partake of thee not caring from where thou comest from. If the gods sees fit to bequeath thou to me, who am I to deny that gift?"

It was easy enough to throw regular dream Yuuri and cow him to my will. But Justice Yuuri was proving to be more difficult. Quite frankly, I was still in awe of his Maou-mode. Even in dreams, it was difficult to fight with him especially when he was nibbling my ear and his fingers were lightly caressing my nipple. His other hand was making its way from my stomach underneath my... my clothes vanished and I was naked again. This time, the dream even got rid of my underwear.

Hands grabbed my shoulders and turned me around. Yuuri with shoulder-length hair and slanted black eyes stared at my naked body with a lustful gaze. I swallowed. This was the demon king through and through. My body responded with great appreciation.

"Say it," he commanded.

There was no denying that order. Blood rushed to my head but I managed to whisper it, "I love you."

His response was not vocal. He said it with his eyes. And I drowned in the depths of those dark demon eyes, full of desire, full of want, full of need, full of.... I dared not even think it. My heart hurt too much. My chest was constricted and it was with great relief when our lips met. I wanted to bury myself deep inside him. I wanted him inside me. I wanted us to melt together and never part.

Someone was yelling my name and shaking my shoulders. I opened my eyes and I was back in the bedroom. I stared at my own green eyes and realized I was looking at myself. Panic was written across my face -- the one that was staring at me. I didn't know whether or not to be disappointed. On one hand, Yuuri and I were just getting to the good part, on the other hand, I really shouldn't indulge in those dreams when I was in bed with Greta and the real Yuuri.

"Wolfram! Wolfram! Answer me," I was yelling. I was amazed at my own self-control, to duplicate a dream self in order to stop myself from doing something terrible. "You're in there, right Wolf. Look all we need to do is undo this. It shouldn't be that hard. Maybe, all we need to do is go to Earth and the dimensional traveling will flip us back..." Okay, so my doppelganger wasn't exactly making sense, but at least my arousal has completely disappeared.

I found myself replying, "You... you are Wolfram. Wolf, do you remember where you are, who you are, who I am?" That certainly made no sense to me. Then again, two Wolframs talking to each other didn't make sense either.

But I was relieved; I could deal with nonsensical dreams. I really should just wake up though. I was probably already late for my tour of duty. _Okay, self wake up._

"You're Oda Nobunaga," other dream Wolfram said.

"Where did you learn about Nobunaga?" my dream self replied.

_Wake up Wolfram._

The scene dissolved.

I opened my eyes hoping to see the heavy canopy of our bed. Instead I was in the throne room and Maou-mode Yuuri was sitting on his throne on the dais above me. Naked.

"Thou art really troublesome Wolfram von Bielefeld," he said imperiously.

"W-why are you naked? Put some clothes on or you'll catch cold," I told him lamely.

"'Tis gratifying to see thou still worry about me even in thy dreams," he muttered. "But why dost thou resist? Is this not what thou desire. I doubt I read thee incorrectly. My heart and thine agree in this matter."

He stood up, stomped his feet loudly on the marble floor. His reverberating declaration echoed in the room and in my mind, "Thou shall not resist me further."

I found myself sitting in front of a canvas, brush in my hand and a palette on the other. I didn't know what dream Maou Yuuri was planning; it was quite certain this was not my regular sweet, innocent, and virginal dream Yuuri. This Yuuri knew what he wanted and winning over him was going to take a strong force of will. Especially since he was using underhanded means, touching me in all my most sensitive areas.

The painting in front of me was done in realism, a style I hadn't done in decades. But this was not the surprising part. Neither was the lemon he was holding. Nor the fact that the figure was naked. Dream Maou Yuuri was certainly no fan of subtlety.

I had been naked with Yuuri more times than he would care to count. I was quite familiar with his length and his girth. The one that picture Maou Yuuri was handling was, to say the least, enhanced.

"Are we going for a different tactic?" I mused loudly.

The figure in the picture winked at me, threw the lemon off the canvas onto the stone floor and grabbed me by my collar. He pulled me in, and again my lips were crushed with suppressed desire. It was as if he had been projecting my year-long sexual frustration in that one kiss.

I gave in to one more second of ecstasy before I pushed him off back into the canvas. Gods! He was beautiful.

"Look, wimp," I said with a little bit of fear. Maou or not, I really should stop this. He was only a dream. It wasn't as if he would suddenly deal some type of punishment onto me. "we can wait another time. How can I put this plainly. Erection, Greta, Yuuri should never be in the same bed. That's just WRONG!"

He laughed. Demonically.

"But my dearest darling, we have left Greta a long time ago."

"Well, I don't believe you."

"I suppose I should have to show thee. But only a peek."

The scene changed and I was sitting behind Yuuri's desk. Gwendal was briefing Yuuri about my mission omitting the most obviously dangerous parts.

A voice that sounded notoriously like myself asked in a worried tone, "... but with the weather outside like it is, will Conrad and them really be okay?"

Wait a minute... I tried to turn my head but I couldn't.

I was still watching Gwendal who now had one of his frowns, intensity level 8, trained on the area where I normally stand -- at Yuuri's right hand.

"Wolfram," he said in a scolding tone, "are you sure you are well enough to be out of bed?"

Of course, I was. If I was able to stand, why should I be in bed? And for that matter, why was I not at my post? I should be heading towards the border village despite the thunder that was booming outside and the rain pelting the glass window with the apathetic vengeance of nature.

Instead of answering what I should have answered, I heard my voice say in a sheepish tone, "Um... y-yeah, I'm fine. I-I was just worried. That's all. No need to call Gisela."

If I wasn't familiar with my own voice, I could have sworn that was the wimp.

"See, no Greta here," a deep voice inside my head said.

_What?!!_

Gwendal's figure started to blur, but this time I willed myself to concentrate so that the scene did not vanish. From the pattern of my dream, if this one disappeared, it would morph into another 'seduce Wolfram' scenario. And frankly, I didn't know if I could handle any more of the Maou's persistence. I refused to embarrass myself in front of my daughter and my fiancé.

"Hmmm..." the deep voice contemplated, "in just a few short hours, thy will has strengthened. But my sweet, thou shall not reach his level so easily. He has had several years of experience after all. I shall, however, let thee watch."

I had no inkling whatsoever of what the Maou was planning, but the scene with Gwendal and other Wolfram did not dissolve.

There was a knock at the door and Josak came in. He looked very amused as he handed Gwendal a piece of paper. "This just arrived Commander," he said.

Gwendal opened the piece of paper and his frown deepened. He tried massaging it off which resulted in the opposite. He sighed and stared at me.

"What is it about, Gwendal?" the other me demanded. Not only was my other self being wimpy, he was also being improper. "I-I mean, Elder Brother." _Nice save, me. Geez_.

I could have sworn Gwendal growled.

"What message comes, Gwendal?" I found myself asking in the voice that was not mine.

_Yes, what is in that message?_

"Your Majesty," he replied. "The Ten Nobles will be holding a council here tomorrow. Your presence is requested."

"Is that all?" I asked, again in the voice that was not....

_Are you controlling my actions?_

"No," the deep voice inside my head answered. "I am controlling my actions".

_I am not asking these questions and I cannot move my head or hands or anything. _I did not get an answer to my complaint.

"No," Gwendal had continued, "the subject of the meeting is your engagement with Wolfram."

"What?!!" my other self asked.

_What?!!_, I thought.

"What?!!" the Maou inside my head exclaimed. "Do those fools doubt my undying love for thee?"

_Probably, you are after all a cheater._

"But darling, I have been thy faithful servant, in this and in the other world. Thou knowest, I would follow thee to the ends of the earth. I would gladly suffer thy scorn, and brave the most noxious smells to see those honeyed-lips play host to the most enchanting smile in two worlds."

_Hmph. Even in dreams, all you know is pretty words._

"Dream? Dost thou still believe this a dream?" the deep voice said incredulously.

My body stood up and turned towards the window. The glass reflected black eyes staring back at me.

_I'm Yuuri?!!_

* * *

tbc...

**A/N:** Next chapter - Wolfram and Yuuri doing what they do best.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:** This chapter - Yuuri and Wolfram clear the confusion._  
_

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**--Wolfram--**

_Let me get this straight. When I woke up this morning, I wasn't in my body?_

"Correct," the Maou answered.

_Conrart was not calling me "Your Majesty", he was actually calling on Yuuri. And that was actually you running with my brother. And that was Yuuri in my body shaking me, calling my name and telling me to wake up._

"Correct."

_It is no wonder why my other self was acting so wimpy. How come you didn't go with him? Why are you stuck here with me? And how come you're the one in control and not me._

I was met with silence.

_Are you trying to do something that wimpy Yuuri would not allow you to? Something you want that he's been suppressing?_

More silence.

I would have crossed my arms and gave a disgusted "hmph!" but the Maou still had control of Yuuri's body. We were at the moment staring at Yuuri who was in my body and who had been gazing out the window. I could only assume he was worried about Conrart.

"Why art thou dispirited?"

_You're talking now?_

"Our love for thy brother differs from our love for thee."

_Apparently._

"He stares at his reflection," his voice was almost gentle when he said it.

_How would you know?_

"He and I, we are the same person."

_So what are you exactly up to? Why won't you let me have control over this body?_

No answer.

"Hmph!" I said. And almost fell out of the chair when I realized that it came out loud. I crossed my arms. I rolled my eyes. I looked at the ceiling. I tapped my foot. I stood up and jumped.

_Finally!_ I thought to myself.

By this time, everyone in the room was staring at me. I grabbed Yuuri's wrist and dragged him towards the doorway.

"Your Majesty," Günter wailed, "we aren't done with your lessons..."

"Lord von Kleist," I said peremptorily, "I expect you, of all people, to understand my needs especially those specific to my fiancé."

For once, Günter was at a loss for words. I smiled inwardly. We left before anyone else could detain us. When we got to our room, I slammed the door and locked it.

"You! Who are you?!" my fiancé cried out as I let go of him.

"Who do you think, Wimp!"

The face that I had known all my life, the face that he was wearing, that face transformed into joy when he heard my favorite nickname for him.

"Thou art beautiful!" the deep voice of the Maou drifted in my head.

_Not now, you. I have to talk to the other you. And no interruptions this time._

By this time, Yuuri had grabbed me and was hugging me tightly. "Wolf! Wolf! You're in there. Gods, I thought I lost you and some evil spirit had taken over my body."

"Well, you're somewhat right," I told him.

"Thou darest call me evil."

_I said 'somewhat'. Honestly, can you just be quiet for a moment._

"Offer me something," the Maou challenged.

_What do you want?_ I thought desperately.

"I want thee," he answered.

_You already have me! _I thought emphatically.

"Wolf, hey, you still in there?" wimp Yuuri said. The one currently residing in my body.

"Of course, I am."

"How come you didn't answer me earlier this morning? I was so panicked," Yuuri whined. "This has to be one of the worst days of my life. Worse than when I was in Shouri's body. First, you've been acting unlike yourself, not that I blame you. It's pretty weird waking up in someone else's body. Then you've been pretending to be me all day. And Conrad didn't even recognize me and now he's gone off on a mission in this god-awful weather. Then there's the meeting with the nobles. I don't know why they're bringing up the engagement at this time. Wolf, what are we going to do? Maybe we should just go back to Earth now. How did we become like this?"

"What? What do you mean, how did we become like this? What are you trying to say? Are you saying you're not going to defend our engagement?"

I was grabbing him by the collar but resisted hitting him. I would have been hitting myself. Well, this situation was proving to be more frustrating in more ways than one. How was I suppose to discipline him when he was wearing my body?

He grabbed me by the shoulders and yelled, "The engagement is not the most important thing right now!"

"What?! Our engagement is not important?!!" Blood was rushing to my head and I felt that I was about to explode.

"Aargh!" he grunted. He let go of me and broke my grasp on his collar. He collapsed on the bed and groaned, "You are the most troublesome person to speak to. In any form."

"Elements of fire, obey this proud Mazoku," I chanted.

"Whoa! Wolfram, calm down..." he put his hands up defensively, "I didn't say our engagement was unimportant."

I didn't go any further. Not that I didn't want to hit him with a fireball, whether or not he had my body. The fire elements were not responding.

I tried again, "Elements of fire, obey this proud Mazoku who have slain the Soushou..."

Nothing.

Not being able to use Majutsu was akin to not being able to see or hear. It was one of the reasons I didn't like going into human territories. It unbalanced me. Not being able to use it in demon territory was nerve-wracking.

"Do not fret, my love," the deep voice in my head assured me, "since I am still here, most likely, thy powers are with thy body."

_Oh._

"Wolfra--"

"Yuuri," I interrupted, "call the elements of fire."

"What? I don't--"

"Just call them! They're not responding to me!" I shouted.

"Oh. But how?" he muttered helplessly.

"Honestly, you've seen me do it hundreds of times."

He screwed his face in thought.

I sighed. "You don't even remember the chant?"

"Um..."

"It doesn't matter what the chant is. You call on the elements of fire and ask them to help you. Feel them in the air and concentrate them on your palm. I have a very strong affinity to fire and they care for me a great deal. You should have no difficulty."

He opened his palm and took a deep breath. "Elements of fire, obey this Mazoku and make the form of a... a fireball!"

Yuuri would have to be the one to come up with the most inelegant chant. "It's a good thing you don't have to chant to use your powers."

"Aw come on Wolf," he said happily as he nodded towards the fireball in his hand. "Look, it worked."

"Of course, it worked."

"I wish I could do this all the time," he mused, "it must be nice to be able to do this without going Maou-mode."

"Speaking of whom... you left him in here," I said.

"Left who in where."

"You left the Maou in here."

"I am the Maou... and I'm in here, how can I leave myself in there?"

"You left your Maou-mode in your body. It's probably why I can't call on the fire elements and you can."

"This didn't happen when I traded bodies with Shouri."

"Well, it's apparent that I left my powers in there," I explained pointing a finger at his chest, "and you left your powers here along with all your perverted thoughts."

"I don't have perverted thoughts!"

"Oh? You don't dream about you and me," I began as I leaned in close to his ear. I finished in a whisper some of the things his other self had been trying to do.

The guilty shade of red would have certainly looked better if he wasn't wearing my face.

"Th-that's neither here nor there, Wolfram. I would like to know how we exchanged places in the first place. Have you been playing with any of Anissina's device?"

"I think I have more wisdom than you, wimp, when it comes to avoiding her!" I raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"Fine, I think all we need to do is travel inter-dimensionally and then we'd get back to normal. I mean, that's what happened with my brother. So it has to work."

"I have a feeling you're just making this up as you go along."

"I don't know why I put up with you..." he stopped when he saw I was about to deck him. Not that I would have, he did still had my body. "Look," he continued, "let's go to Earth now and we can see who is right and who is blond."

I gave him a Gwendal-sized frown. He shrugged.

"We can't leave," I said finally.

"Why not?"

"You have a meeting with the Ten Nobles tomorrow, remember?"

"No. You, Yuuri, have a meeting with the Ten Nobles tomorrow," he countered.

"Either way, we can't leave until after the meeting."

"Why are they having a council about us anyway?"

"Because you're a cheater."

* * *

tbc...

**A/N:** I didn't realize how short this chapter was. Next chapter will be much longer -- Meeting, Skirmish, Epiphanies.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes: **A much longer chapter this time. Thank you for all the reviews. I hope you keep enjoying this fic.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 5**

**--Yuuri--**

Really, I had no idea why I put up with him. Sure, he was pretty. And devoted. And smart. And a good father. And gorgeous. And strong. And determined. And honest. And kind in a blunt sort of way. With honey-colored hair, but that didn't matter. Blue or green or brown would have been fine with me. He had the face of an angel, but I didn't need to have that to be in heaven. His eyes reminded me of the bottom of a lake. Which made me feel like I was drowning when I stare into them too long.

_Wolfram von Bielefeld, what am I going to do with you?_

We were sitting in Gwendal's study facing his desk as the man shadow-knitted with his fingers. He looked like he was about to have an aneurysm.

Wolfram and I decided (after a long argument that lasted practically all night) that: one, we would not go back to Earth until the matter of the engagement was settled; two, we would not tell anyone of our problem except for Gwendal; which meant, three, Wolfram would be attending the council. This, of course, meant that I would not have any say on my future. Not that I would have known what to do if I were to be the one in the hot seat. And it wasn't as if I had any say in my future in the first place. Others seemed to have already been planning it long before I was even born. I was just along for the ride.

At the very least, Wolfram was the one person I trusted without reservation. He was too much of a straight pitcher to plot underhanded tricks.

"Tell me again," Gwendal grunted, "His Majesty is not completely in Wolfram's body?"

"He left his perverted part," Wolfram said.

"I do not have a perverted part," I yelled.

"I must agree with His Majesty, Wolfram. I cannot picture him..." Gwendal gave out a long suffering sigh, "you must understand, he's too..."

"Wimpy?!"

"Yes-no... Dammit!" Gwendal exclaimed as he slammed his fist on the desk. "Where is that drink I asked for? Where is Conrart at a time like this?"

"You sent him to the border."

"Grrrrr...." the man actually growled. Like a tiger. I wondered if they had tigers here.

"Yuuri, I don't think he really wanted an answer," Wolfram whispered.

"Fine, let's just agree I don't have a perverted part," I said, "can we move on?"

"You do have a perverted part. He's been keeping me company all day. _And. All. Night._"

"Hah! Like you don't have any. Apparently, you left your perverted parts along with your Maryoku in this body. You kept me up all night with all those dirty dreams you've been having."

"Are you sure those aren't yours? I think all your personalities are perverted. Did you know what the Maou was doing to me last night? Well he was xxxx my xxxx and then he xxxxx and made me xxxxx..."

I had my hand on my ears so I didn't hear what Wolfram actually said. Though I could imagine all too clearly.

We both jumped when the ground started rumbling. Oh yeah, Gwendal was still here.

"I really don't care nor need to hear what goes on in your bedroom," he yelled at the top of his voice. "You," he pointed at his brother who was still in my body, "have to meet with the council in five minutes. I wish you had told me this sooner and we could have postponed the conference. But it's too late now."

_Why do reasonable plans always come too late?_, I thought to myself.

Gwendal stood up and closed his eyes. "I am going to go get a drink and you had better not be late. You," he pointed at me, "stay here."

I half-expected the door to break off its hinges the way he slammed it. I looked at Wolfram who was now wearing a look that scared me. No, it wasn't the violent 'I am going to pound you into the ground' look. It was a thoughtful look. The one that usually preceded a painting session or a wedding talk session or any Wolfram-ish non-Yuuri-ish activity session.

"What do you want?" he asked in a tone I couldn't quite put down to one emotion. It sounded a little egotistical, a little frustrated, a little scared, a little too nonchalant.

"Um... nothing?" I answered tentatively. I wasn't sure what this mood was and even if I was in his body, I didn't think that would stop him from rewarding me with some punishment. His face (which was mine) didn't carry the same fear-enducing intensity his angelic shojo-manga-style beauty usually carried, but he certainly made my average face look more fearsome than I could ever. Then it hit me, "Oh, you mean the engagement."

He didn't answer. Was he giving me a way out? The Wolfram whose entire life had suddenly revolved around me since that infamous slap? The Wolfram who went across the world against his brother's orders just to look for me? The Wolfram that had inserted himself in all various aspects of my life: sneaking into my bed, taking the role of father with my adopted daughter, ingratiating himself with my family, always bathing with me, throwing himself between me and danger? The Wolfram who braved seasickness just to be by my side? The Wolfram who went to Houryoku-steeped human territories even if it made him weak just to save me? Obsessive, possessive Wolfram. I was stunned. I couldn't say anything.

"Wimp," he muttered. He stood up and left, closing the door softly behind him. I sat there and stared at that door for a very long time.

I was still staring at it when Josak opened it.

"Your Excellency Wolfram," he said as he walked in, "I suppose council already started."

I nodded. He closed the door and gave me an appraising look. He couldn't possibly know that I was not Wolfram, could he? When he spoke up, I realized his mind was on something else.

"We just received a message from the Captain," he said as he handed me the letter.

It was short and written in haste. It made my heart freeze. I stood up abruptly knocking the chair which tumbled on its side. I flew out of the room and through the corridors. Josak must have understood what I wanted; I did not issue any orders yet it was only a few minutes later that Wolfram's personal guards were at the gate waiting for their commander. I was thankful to see that a platoon of regular soldiers accompanied us. I didn't know what to do with Wolfram's men, but at least I knew Josak would command the others.

The spy rode beside me as he briefed me about the hasty preparations. As soon as he finished, we broke into a gallop. If he thought it strange that I was riding Ao, he didn't mention it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**--Wolfram--**

When Uncle Waltorana informed me of the decision to make me the 28th Maou, I took it upon myself to test the infamous rotating chair, the one created to counter my mother's habit of facing only the handsome members of the council. I would prefer to state that it helped, but after being spun around multiple times and the greetings weren't yet completed, I was ready to vomit. It was worse than being on a boat.

The council was really only a formality. At least that was what I told myself. They had elected me previously as Maou, I had no doubt that I would pass with flying colors when it came time to approve me as the Royal Consort. However, the preparations I had made were for when they questioned me, Wolfram von Bielefeld, not when they questioned Yuuri. How was I to know that I would be sitting in Yuuri's place answering for him. And doing all that without causing any suspicion.

"Has thou forgotten about me?" the deep voice of the Maou echoed in my head.

How could I. He pursued me all night. I would have given up since Greta had decided to sleep in her bedroom. But I had my pride. When I do join with Yuuri, it wouldn't just be with one part of him, but with all of him, every single mote of his being from the terrifying Maou to all the wimpy bits.

_I'm trying to concentrate here. This is not the time and place for... you know._

"Trust me," was his only reply.

_Will you give me a choice?_

The only answer was a subtle change, but I knew I no longer had control of Yuuri's body. I was relegated to being part of the audience. I hated not being in control.

"The questions are for me after all," he said after a while. I didn't know whether he was trying to mollify me. Either way, my irritation subsided.

"I proposed because he is beautiful," the Maou said out loud to the council. I hadn't realized the questioning had started already.

_What?!! You only care for my face?_

"To say such a thing is a grave injustice to me," he answered.

"B-but Your Majesty," Günter prompted, "surely you felt the proud nobility running in Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld's veins..."

"No, quite the contrary, he angered me with his rudeness," the Maou interrupted. "Noble would not be what I would describe him at the time of my proposal. I wanted to hurt him. But he has a beautiful face so instead of punching him, I slapped him."

I knew this, of course, but hearing it stated so plainly, I couldn't begin to describe the pain that shot through my heart. I was glad I was a mere disembodied mind with no control over a body because trying to stop tears from falling was irritating. No. I would not have cried. I would not cry for this. I should be angry. I was angry. No. I was furious. I...

A feeling outside myself washed over me and the anger was gone. Slowly, the sadness faded and the pain became a memory. It was a warm feeling of care, of being embraced from within. No arms surrounded me, but I felt I had arrived after a long journey. He did not need to say the words. And he didn't.

_I trust you,_ I said to him.

I felt him cheer and his lighthearted joy filled me.

The chair turned and we faced Stoffel.

"Are you saying, Your Majesty, that the proposal was an accident? And that you did not mean to engage yourself to Wolfram?"

"Yes."

The gasps around the room were not unexpected. This was supposed to be a formality where Yuuri praised me to high heaven and swore his undying love. How was the council supposed to endorse a fiancé gained by accident?

The chair turned to face Lady von Rochefort.

"Why did you not end the engagement immediately?"

Then it was Uncle Waltorana.

"Do you take Wolfram so lightly?"

Then Lord von Gyllenhaal, "No matter how little you knew of our rules at the time, surely, you didn't think anyone would force you onto an unwanted marriage."

Then it was Lord von Radford, "And still, you must take responsibility for such acts."

Then Lord von Karbelnikoff, "What has Wolfram said of this? Does he know you don't feel..."

Back to Lady von Rochefort, "Feelings are beside the point. There is a strategic alliance at stake here. His Majesty's alignment with Bielefeld has provided some sort of stability for the people of Shin Makoku."

Back to Uncle Waltorana, "You should all know by now that Wolfram will fulfill his obligations no matter what."

Then to Gwendal, "I appreciate everyone's curiosity, but we should give His Majesty a chance to answer your questions."

_Thank you, Elder Brother_. I thought I was going to pass out from dizziness.

"Thank you, Lord von Voltaire," the Maou stated. "Why did I not end the engagement immediately? I did not want to anger Wolfram. Do I take him lightly? No. Did I think anyone would force me into an unwanted marriage? No. Will I take responsibility for my actions? Yes. Does Wolfram know how I feel? Yes. How does he feel about this? He loves me. As for alliances, my engagement and eventual marriage will have the least bearing on the kingdom's stability. And yes, Lord von Bielefeld, I expect Wolfram to fulfill his obligations to me just as he expects that I will fulfill my obligations to him. And to add my own point, whether or not this council agrees, I will marry Wolfram."

Gwendal spoke, "Before anyone asks any more questions, We will now be calling for Wolfram. The council will deliberate while we wait. Your Majesty, you can take a break to settle your stomach."

The Maou had given control back to me and I stood up as soon as I was released from the chair. A guard had been called and was ordered to fetch Yuuri. But instead of turning around, the guard stated, "Your Excellency, Lord Wolfram left to assist Lord Conrart."

"What?!!" Gwendal and I both shouted at the same time. But instead of questioning the guard like Gwendal, I leaped over the nearest arc on the circular table and ran as fast as I could to the stables.

_Conrart, always it is Conrart._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**--Yuuri--**

The scene before our eyes should have triggered the Maou in me. The ground was soaked with blood, the village was half-burned. Thankfully, the fires had been put out and our forces had been able to pull the fighting away towards the fields. There were bodies everywhere I turned. Soldiers and civilians. Friend and foe.

Josak grabbed my reins before I could head towards the fields.

"Your Excellency Wolfram," he said, "give me a few seconds."

Though I was impatient to get moving, I waited as he issued several orders. Most of the platoon rode towards the battle in haste while the rest rode outwards from our position in the opposite direction. The rest made their way towards the village. Finally, he addressed Wolfram's guards, "Gentlemen, remember your first priority." I felt great relief when he finally released Ao.

Whatever crops the villagers had carefully tended had all been destroyed by the fierceness of the battle. The clash of metal on metal rang loudly in my head. Worse were the explosions that punctuated the battle cries and blood-curdling screams.

_Why?_ Tears were streaming down my face. I had never felt so frustrated in my entire life. Had I depended on the Maou too much to fix these problems?

Before I knew it, I was chanting under my breath. But before I could finish and feel the elements of fire gather in my hand, Josak grabbed my arm.

"Your Majesty," he whispered harshly, "I am not a Maryoku user, but even I understand the danger. All the elements can be used to destroy, but fire is the most destructive. You have no control of Wolfram's powers. It is best that you make use of those who can wield it."

I stared dumbfounded at him.

"I understand how you feel," he said, "but you would be useless to us dead."

"Where is Conrad?"

The glance was brief, I would have missed it if I had not been watching him so closely.

"It is best if you stayed back, Wolfram's guards will protect you with their lives."

He swore at my back loudly when Ao broke into a gallop towards the area with the heaviest action. I felt him before I saw him.

It was insanity to have ridden in the middle of that chaos. It was with a strange detachment that I noted the attempts at my life deflected by Josak and Wolfram's men. I heard Josak yell at one of them, "You, water user, keep your eyes completely on him. If you look anywhere else even for one second, I will flay your perfect skin. And I don't care what noble family you're from."

Then I saw him. They were fighting in an area devoid of other soldiers as if everyone automatically gave berth to the fierce combat between the two. He had a big gash on his left side and I could see blood flowing freely. He was still holding his own, but I saw the evil grin of triumph on his opponent's face. The fire elements surrounded my body while Ao picked her way carefully through the rubble of broken bodies.

"Douse him," I heard Josak yell, "keep doing it!"

Then he was in front of me and I was wet. His horse and body briefly covered the vision of Conrad and his opponent and fire surrounded me again. And, again, water poured over me. Josak did not even stop his horse when he jumped off.

It was like watching a movie in slow motion. I saw Josak's body move in an arc in the air and land gracefully on its feet. I reined in Ao and knew Wolfram's men spread out in a circle around me. I saw Conrad drop his sword and his opponent's face register grim satisfaction as his sword swung down. I screamed and my body burst in flames. Then I saw Conrad's terrifying face reflect that same evil grin that the other man wore earlier.

No.

This was not Conrad.

No.

Conrad's body moved with blinding speed and next thing I saw was blood spurting from the opponent's neck.

No.

The scene sped up and everything seemed to blur as the skies darkened and rain pelted down from the heavens. The ground rumbled and lightning struck in several places. Everyone stopped and we all looked at the dark shadowy figure with red eyes hovering above us.

"I do not take the lives of men, but you have left me no choice," the deep voice said exactly what I wanted to say except in words taken out of a Japanese historical drama.

It is strange to watch yourself outside yourself. It's like listening to yourself in a recording. You know you said the words, but it almost sounds like a stranger because you're not used to listening to yourself from outside your head. The voice sound a little off. Perhaps you don't recognize that little strange accent you have or that particular way you sound your R's.

And all too quickly, it was over. I never really tried, did I? Trouble comes, then boom, apply a little bit of Maou ex-Machina and voila, problem fixed. Was this all that Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Fuuri really amounted to? I saw Wolfram's figure crumple after the Maou left and Gwendal caught his brother before he hit the ground. I turned to look for Conrad.

He was leaning on Josak and bleeding all over his friend. I smiled despite the carnage, despite the horror, despite the sadness, despite all the terrible things I couldn't control. Because if I didn't smile, I was sure I was going to break.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" my name-giver asked. "Where's Wolfram?"

"Conrad, you're alive," I managed to get out as he let go of Josak and grabbed me in a tight hug.

"Captain, I don't think Wolfram would appreciate you bleeding all over his uniform," Josak commented dryly.

Conrad loosened the embrace though he still had his hands on my shoulder, he turned to Josak who forced a mischievous smile, and then he fainted. Fortunately, Josak caught him before he hit the ground.

"I know my face makes grown men swoon, but you didn't have to do it literally Captain." The light words could not belie the worry in his voice.

I could have cried but I didn't. Instead I kept my smile on as Josak picked Conrart up.

I still had that stupid bitter smile on my face when I finally faced my fiancé. He was surrounded by the Ten Nobles and I felt too numb to wonder what they were doing here. Though I did find it amusing in a morbid sort of fascination that they didn't look as immaculate as they normally did.

Angering the blond bishonen when I wasn't at fault caused untold amounts of physical pain. The guilt that comes when it was my fault was even worse. However, this time, I could only laugh at his face. Because he was wearing mine. I should fear him because this was still Wolfram and even worse, he had the Maou's powers.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he yelled as he shook me. "How am I suppose to protect you when you go running off behind my back. And this has to be the worst time. You don't have control over my powers and the Maou isn't with you."

"But it did work, didn't it, Wolf?" I said laughing and choking at the same time. "You brought him, didn't you? And now everything is fixed, isn't it?"

Tears were streaming down my cheeks and on his shoulder because he was holding on to me tightly.

"What's wrong, Wolf?" I asked, "Conrad, he's going to be fine, isn't he?"

I felt his body stiffened and he released me from his comfortable embrace. Looking at my own average face, I realized something.

"This... this was your... Wolfram, this was your mission." I was horrified. I grabbed his collar and brought his face close to mine, "you didn't tell me this was going to be dangerous."

That statement must have opened the floodgates of his fury. He grabbed me by my collar and brought our faces even closer. We were as close to each other as possible without kissing.

"You..." his face twisted in anger, "what do you think soldiers do? Of course, it was dangerous. All missions are. I'm a soldier and you'd better get used to that idea fast. We're all soldiers. Do you think the title 'Lord' is just for show? Do you think we use it to make ourselves look bigger. No! There is a responsibility that comes with that. We're all, each and every single one of us," he nodded his head towards the Ten Nobles and I realized they looked a little ragged because they had been fighting, "we are trained to die for our country. One day, Yuuri, I will die for you. Cry now if you want. But you're going to need to learn to move on without me...." His voice sounded choked before he added, "...without Conrart."

He pushed me away and I backpedaled until my back hit Gwendal. I looked up at the very tall stern man.

"Your Majesty," he said, "it's good to see you're unhurt."

I could hear the relief in his voice. And if I hadn't already felt guilty for causing Wolfram to worry, then this certainly brought it home.

"You're riding in the wagon with Conrart," Wolfram declared.

"Huh?" was my eloquent reply.

Someone brought him Ao and he got up on the saddle. "I am the king," he explained, "I am supposed to ride at the front. You cannot handle my steed so you will ride with Conrart in the wagon. It will not cause any concern as the people will only think that I am worried for him. It's better than having them think their prince had suddenly become a clumsy wimp. Don't worry, I'll ride by your side until we get to the capital."

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**A/N:** Next chapter - going back to Earth


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: **Thank you everyone for staying with this story so far. I hope you are enjoying it. Thanks to everyone who left a review. It really puts a smile on my face when I get them.

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**Chapter 6**

**--Wolfram--**

I said goodbye to the Ten Nobles as my fiancé kept vigil at my brother's bedside. They had approved of our engagement after, in their words, bearing witness to the strength of our affection. It was a hollow victory.

I hadn't heard from the Maou since his display at the battlefield. I wasn't sure if it was due to my anger or perhaps I had been more forceful in suppressing him. Perhaps, he was as wimpy as the other one. Either way, I didn't feel like talking to either of them.

I felt a small hand in mine and I looked down. It was natural for her to do this with Yuuri, he was the more outwardly affectionate parent. Greta's smile did sooth me a bit and the world started to go back to normal.

"Do I need to show thee who is thy lord and master?" the deep voice sounded in my head.

_Great._

"Good, do not forget, Lord von Bielefeld," he added.

I turned towards the castle, since one part of him was already bothering me, I might as well get it over with and speak to the other part.

"Your Majesty," Günter called out. Greta and I stopped. I glanced at her and she nodded. I stared a few moments after her retreating figure and smiled. I had Yuuri's body so I can shamelessly gaze proudly all I want.

"Yes, Günter?"

"I did not have the chance to say this during council since we broke rather early, but I wanted to express my sentiments on your engagement." He looked towards the hills as if trying to form the words in his head. This was atypical of Günter who would normally gush off in a waterfall of eloquence.

"Wolfram is a selfish brat. A spoiled prince. Impetuous. Obnoxious. Loud. Tactless," he said as he turned to face me. _Tell me something I don't know_. "But Your Majesty, in your wisdom, you had ignored all those and recognized his strengths. It was no accident that he was elected to succeed you when you left. His uncle may have nominated him, but Waltorana is not the type of person who would put family before the kingdom. The Ten Nobles did not choose lightly, he would have have made a good king. Your Majesty, if there was anyone fit enough to be by your exalted self, it would have to be Wolfram."

I stared at him in shock.

"Please don't tell Wolfram I said that," he said before he went inside, "he's still an obnoxious brat after all."

Gwendal and I watched in stunned silence as the man disappeared into the castle. My brother turned to me with a smile; it was that secret smile we shared when we were younger and we had done something mischievous and he was pretending to be above it. I sniggered back.

I kept that lighthearted feeling all the way to Conrart's room but it disappeared all too quickly when I saw my king. He was slumped down on a chair beside the bed with his head on his hands. He looked up when he heard the door. He gave me a bittersweet smile, "Wolf..."

I stopped in front of him and looked down at Conrart's sleeping figure. "How is he?" I asked even though Gisela had already informed me. There were too many words vying to get out of my head, but they were too difficult to think about, much less say. This was simple. Easy.

"Gisela said he will be fine. They didn't hit any critical organs. He suffered mainly from blood loss. She already healed most of the damage and he'll just need to rest. He'll be back good as new in a few days."

Before I could scold him for looking so morose, he added, "How did the council meeting go?"

I crossed my arms in front of my chest before I answered, "Well."

"And..." he said expectantly.

"What did you think? Of course, they approved our engagement. Were you hoping otherwise?"

"Heh-heh-eh. No." He put his hands up in that way he did when he thought I was about to beat him up. Wimp.

"I'm sorry, Wolf," he continued when he realized there was no punch coming. "I should have been there with you. You shouldn't have to answer for me. And then I didn't even do your part, instead I left you hanging."

"There is no help for it, you're our wimpy king, after all," I said as I looked at my brother's face. "We got there in time and everything turned out well in the end." I turned to him and smiled.

"Still, I'm sorry. Next time, I promise to be there."

"Don't make promises you can't keep. You're the king. You need to think of your words before you bandy them about. Besides, the only way you'd have to go through that kind of meeting is if I leave you."

"You're not leaving me, are you?!" he exclaimed as his eyes got unusually large. _Not when you're looking at me like that, idiot._

"I should because you're irritating."

"Aw, come on. I said I was sorry."

"Don't worry, the Maou came and answered for you anyway. All I did was watch."

"Th-that was nice of him."

"He is you, after all. And you are kind. But I was glad I didn't have to pretend to be you. It would have been very awkward."

"So what did I say?"

"What do you mean what did you say?"

"You know... what I answered, what they asked. I'm curious."

"Huh?!! Don't you know what you would have said about me? Are you saying you feel differently than the Maou? How can that be? You're the same person!"

"How am I suppose to know what I said, I wasn't there and I don't know what questions they asked. And why is your face red? You're blushing! Did I say something embarrassing at the meeting? Did I babble about my ero-ero dreams?"

"What?!!" I smacked him then regretted it because I just hit my face. "Why would the Maou do that? Do you think the Ten Nobles would be so crass as to ask about our sexual life? Sometimes I don't know what the hell goes inside that wimpy little head of yours."

The argument would have probably gone on indefinitely if His Eminence didn't come to interrupt us. Sometimes I feel our engagement was just one long argument with regular interruptions. I knew love was hard work, but there were times when I harbored a suspicion that Yuuri was some kind of sado-masochist who got off on making our relationship more difficult than it should be.

"Your Emi-- Murata, er, how's it going?"

"You can drop the act, Lord von Bielefeld," His Eminence said, "though I do like you calling me Murata. It would be really nice to hear it coming from your lips instead of Shibuya's borrowed ones."

"Murata..."

"Almost, Shibuya, though I would like to think he would say it with a different intonation.... Anyway, isn't it rude to have a lovers' quarrel in front of a dying man?"

"We're not having a lovers' quarrel!"

"My brother is not dying!"

"Well then, if he's not dying, why don't we fix that little problem of yours. Or do you like being in each other's bodies? I suppose it's kinky in a rather disturbed way." He paused before continuing, "From the look on your faces, I'll assume otherwise. Though Shibuya, you need to stop staring at mirrors. Lord von Bielefeld is getting a reputation of being a terrible narcissist."

"Yuuri..."

"I know, Wolf, I'm just tired... and I guess I feel bad leaving without saying goodbye at least."

"I don't think you understand that it's difficult for me to protect you when you're split like this," I told him. "I can't move in your body easily. I don't know who to protect, this body or that one."

"He's right, you know," His Eminence agreed. "Lord Weller is not going anywhere and your presence by his side is not going to make him recover faster. Your impulse to play as Lord von Bielefeld could have ended badly. I didn't know that your powers did not go with you or I would have stopped you. A miscalculation on my part and it's not something I would like to happen again. We would all rest much easier when you are back to yourself."

Somehow His Eminence's speech made my fiancé look even more distraught. "Yuuri, we can wait until he wakes up."

"It's not that," he replied giving me a wan smile. "Let's go now okay. And we'll go back as soon as I am rested to make the return trip. I know you must be worried about him also."

I felt there was something else he was not saying. We were both worried for Conrart, but he was a soldier and stronger than I. This little thing wouldn't keep him down.

"Well, if you two are done making lovey-dovey googly eyes at each other, we should get going."

"We're not making googly eyes at each other..."

"Really? Because that's what it looked like."

A few minutes and another world later, His Eminence was making another one of his taunting comments, "Well, you're certainly not making lovey-dovey googly eyes anymore."

I was angrily toweling my body dry. Or more correctly, Yuuri's body. I was still in it.

"I don't know why it didn't work," the wimp said, "maybe, it's because the Maou isn't in me."

That was true. Yuuri had not been able to transport us to Earth. I had to do it with His Eminence guiding me outwardly and the Maou guiding me inwardly. Still, I felt fortunate to have actually made it. For a split second, I thought we would end up in an entirely different world more screwed up than this one. I was, however, not happy that the journey did not reverse our problem. In fact, I was very far from happy if my growling was any indication.

"I don't think that's it, Shibuya," His Eminence replied. "The exchange between you and your brother is slightly different from your exchange with Lord von Bielefeld, therefore, the cause must be different and the solution different.... I wonder if that's it," he said thoughtfully. "But I'd like to investigate it first.... Besides you might even figure it out before I do. There isn't much danger here as in Shin Makoku. And it couldn't hurt that you two spend some time in each other's shoes."

I stopped my growling. This actually posed some opportunities for me.

"I am heartened that thou wish not to part yet," said the deep voice inside my head.

_It's not that._

"His Eminence is right, it is safer here. You are able to survive here without my protection."

"You know, I've never asked this, but why do you readily agree to Murata's ideas and yet you argue with me."

"I must agree with my other self," the Yuuri inside my head added, "thy temper, which is more explosive than a volcano, need not be kept only for us. It would amuse me if thou decide to unleash it on the Great Sage."

"What are you talking about? I only argue with you because you do foolish things," I answered wimpy Yuuri. I didn't bother answering the other one.

"Shibuya, you are being unfair. Our blond tsundere is playing favorites towards you."

Yuuri turned his sour look on the other double black. Perhaps, I should have sided with my fiancé and tried to get answers out of His Eminence. Regret came when the Maou took over Yuuri's body as soon as my future mother-in-law barged in the bathroom squealing with excitement.

Dinner was strange, Yuuri was quiet while the Maou and His Eminence were talkative. Father Shouma was out on a business trip and Shouri had not come home yet. So it was only us and Mother Jennifer.

_What are you doing?_ I asked the Maou at one point.

"Spending time with my honorable mother," he replied.

I was amused by that.

However, my amusement did not last. It ended once we were in bed. The Maou still refused to relinquish control of Yuuri's body and he started his sexual harassment not only on my mind but on my physical form.

I felt my body snuggle up to Yuuri who reacted predictably, his body stiffly shot up and he started blubbering, "W-W-Wolf, what are you doing?"

"Wolfram?" the Maou answered in a playful tone, "Oh, our fiancé is currently trying to resist me."

"Y-Y-You!!! What are you doing? You're me! What am I doing?!" he shouted then slammed his hand on his mouth and whispered harshly to himself, "what the hell is Wolfram doing going Maou-mode?"

"Look," Yuuri continued as he pointed his finger on my chest, "you-me, why are you out? Is there any danger in the vicinity? Should we get Mom, Dad and Shouri out of here? Perhaps call Bob-san or Rodriguez-san?"

I felt lips break into a smirk as the Maou flashed a dirty picture in my mind, "The danger is only to our virginity."

_Geez, where did you learn such a stupid way to talk._

Yuuri's mouth was opening and closing with no words coming out.

A couple of the Maou's fingers found themselves between Yuuri's lips and he stopped his absurd imitation of a fish.

"Suck them," the Maou whispered seductively.

"What?!!" Yuuri spat out.

_What?!!_ I screamed in my head. _Have you gone insane?_

"Why? We all desire this don't we?" the Maou said out loud.

"N-n-no!!!" Yuuri retorted, "I cannot even begin to say what is wrong with this picture. Why would I want to-to-to... to do dirty things to my own body? Why would you want to do dirty things with me? I-I-I... I've gone insane."

_You're damn right, wimp!_

"I must disagree," the Maou said, "we have done numerous wanton deeds to our body. And who can blame us, for we are in the zenith of our youth. Is it not our obligation, our solemn duty to abandon ourselves to this pleasure? The beauty of our joining shall be spoken of with reverence for years to come."

_You've been talking to Günter too much._

"I think I've been spending too much time with Günter," Yuuri echoed. "I'm sorry Maou-mode Yuuri, I admit to having ero-ero dreams about Wolfram -- if you're in there Wolf, you'd better not be listening, this is a conversation between me and me..."

_Even if you say that, what am I suppose to do? Idiot._

"... but please remember I-we... you and me, we are a guy and Wolfram's a guy. The full set should have a penis, a vagina and a set of breasts..."

_Oh you want breasts so much?! I'm going to kill you once I get out of your body._

"Like thou hast never caressed bosoms in this lifetime," the Maou shot at me.

_Th-that was a long time ago... before you came.... Have you been delving in my memories?!_

"...it's not suppose to be two penises and no breasts," Yuuri continued.

"And yet, the mechanics worked well enough in our dreams," the Maou countered.

"We're not gay and that's final!"

"Are we saying we're not marrying Wolfram?"

"That's not what I'm saying."

"We're marrying Wolfram?"

"We're not talking about this while we're like this. And please put some distance between us."

I realized that the Maou had been licking the base of Yuuri's neck as he talked.

"Thou must release me first," the Maou answered.

Yuuri cried a graceless 'gyah!' as he removed his hand from my backside. "This body is betraying me," he added.

"Beloved, we will continue this," the Maou echoed in my head, "do not forget thou art mine."

I felt him release control. I wasted no time in grabbing Yuuri's collar, "Wimp! You pervert!"

"Wolf! You're back!"

"You moron! You idiot! You CHEATER!!! How dare you say I need breasts and a vagina."

"I didn't say you need those..."

"What did you mean then? Huh? That you're going to have someone other than me! Tell me!"

"W-W-Wolf, you're going to wake up the whole house. Why would I want anyone else, I already have my hands full with just you."

I slammed his body back on the bed and got up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not sleeping with you tonight."

"Hey, we're not at Blood Pledge Castle, you don't have a room here and we don't have a guest room. Just come back to bed."

"I'll sleep on the sofa."

"You're going to sleep all crooked and your body will hurt in the morning."

"Good, I'll make sure this body is full of cramps before I hand it back. And when I'm back in my own, then I'll beat you up."

"W-Wolf, calm down please."

"Hmph!"

"Aw.... Fine. I'll get the futon out, just stay in this room. I promise I won't try anything stupid okay? Well... I guess I can't really promise that since I've gone all kinds of stupid. We'll get this mix-up sorted out and then we can go home. Okay? Please don't be mad."

How can I stay mad when he says pretty words in that dopey earnest way of his?

"Wimp."

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**A/N:** Next Chapter - spending time with family


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** Thank you for all the reviews. I'm sorry I haven't responded to the latest ones. But I really really appreciate every one of them.

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**Chapter 7**

**--Yuuri--**

I couldn't decide which scared me more. The Maou's freaky attempt to seduce me while I was in Wolfram's body or Wolfram in my body getting ready for school.

I should have known the third son of the ex-Maou was up to something when he did a complete about-face in regards to getting me in the proper body. I should have recognized that predatory look, but he had been wearing my face and the battle had still weighed heavily in my mind.

"You don't have to go in my place, I could just as easily tell the school I'm sick," I've been trying to convince him from his intended plan since I woke up. "We could spend the day together and I'll show you some more places in Tokyo. I'll buy you another crepe."

"That was fun," he said, his eyes sparkling. I wondered if I could make my eyes sparkle like that when I get them back. "Still, I can't pass this opportunity up. Who knows if I'll ever be in your body again. This way, I'll know definitely whether you're cheating or not, wimp."

"I'm not a wimp and I'm not a cheater," I blurted. How did I ever get myself in a relationship with such an intense individual.

"Then what was all that talk last night about vaginas and breasts?" he shot back.

I shuddered at the mention of last night, "Can we not talk about last night? In fact, let's pretend it never happened. Let's not even pretend it was a bad dream. Let's just completely erase it from our minds. I think the memory alone will cause my brain to hemorrhage."

"You're the one to talk. I was the one being assaulted."

"I wasn't assaulting you!"

He gave me a withering look.

"Okay, I was assaulting you." It seemed in any form, he could still rattle me into submission. It wasn't as if I could say it wasn't me when we both knew it was.

"It still doesn't explain why you want to go to my school," I muttered. "Besides, you don't even know how to get there. You don't know my classmates' names or anything. You're just going to cause trouble."

"You seem to forget, you're going with me," he said as he stood there in my school uniform hands on his hips.

"I am?" I asked confused.

"The Maou is," he smiled. "He's going to give me all the information I need to get through the day."

"Why would he do that?"

"I promised him something," he said offhandedly.

"What did you promise?" I demanded.

"You're him, shouldn't you know what you would ask of me?"

My body dropped heavily back onto the bed and I stared at the ceiling. Yes, I could imagine what the Maou would try to extract from Wolfram. This was a Freudian nightmare. My Id, the receptacle of all my base desires was stuck with Wolfram and offering things that Wolfram had wanted for a very long time. I knew because I was pretty sure his base desires were left in this body along with his Maryoku. There were positions in my erotic dreams in the past two nights that I was positive weren't mine. Wolfram certainly had more imagination than I did. I wasn't even sure if some of those positions were possible. The only thing I could be thankful for was that Wolfram didn't have a split personality like me.

Okay, so if only our egos exchanged, where were the Super-egos? Shouldn't they sweep down with their red and royal blue capes and save Wolfram and I from the clutches of the evil lascivious Maou.

What the heck? It probably didn't even work that way.

As we went downstairs, I tried for a different tactic, "I am your king, aren't I?" I was pulling all the stops now.

"Are you really going to _dare_ order me not to go?" he challenged.

Okay, no, I actually didn't dare. The only times I issue a royal order to Wolfram were during life and death situations. Because if I did try to order him any other time, it would turn into a life and death situation with my life on the line.

"Aren't you afraid I'm going to use your pretty face to get girls?" One last try couldn't hurt.

He grabbed me by the collar and brought my face to his. I swore puffs of smoke were coming out of his nostrils. Yes, we understood each other, I was never ever going to use his face or any face whatsoever to get any girls.

I said goodbye to him at the door. I also said goodbye to the possibility of me having a girlfriend ever. I was sure Wolfram would declare to all that I was engaged to a boy.

"You sigh like a lovesick puppy," I heard Shouri's voice say behind me, "he'll be back in the afternoon."

"Hey, Shouri," I replied, "don't you have class or something?" Oh yeah, I should act more like Wolfram. "I mean that's what Yuuri told me."

He beckoned me to the living room. I sat down on a chair facing him. We contemplated each other as if we were players at the World Tournament of Poker. What could Shouri possibly want with Wolfram? Last time they were alone together... were they ever alone together?

"I don't recall ever being alone with you except those times you came in my bedroom," Shouri said finally.

What?!! Wolfram had been sneaking behind my back. And he called me a cheater. And with my bro--. Oh yeah, I forgot, he was possessed at the time.

"I just... I just..."

_Spit it out Shouri, are you going to say something bad to Wolfram?_

"I asked Conrad what you liked. I know you were somewhat possessed at the time, but still, you did grant me the power to help my brother. And for that I'm thankful."

He pulled out a box and put it on top of the coffee table. "I would have given it to you a while back, but Yuuri's always with you."

"Thank you," I replied. I took the box and stared at it. I felt wrong opening Wolfram's present.

"You don't have to open it now if you don't want to."

"Is it okay if I wait until Yuuri is home?" I asked.

"Sure..." he replied. I thought he was going to get up, but instead he kept sitting there.

I didn't know Wolfram could cause such a reaction from Shouri. I was really curious what my brother thought of my fiancé.

"Was there anything else you wanted to say?" I prompted.

"No.... No. I mean... my parents already approve of you. But you two are still young even if you are in love with each other..."

_I'm in love with Wolfram?_ I had always known Shouri with his brother complex wasn't completely mentally stable. But I thought he would at least be cognizant of the fact that Wolfram and I were both guys. How could I fall in love with another guy?

"... he's so protective of you," he continued. _Well that's true_. "I just don't think it's good for him to have such deep feelings for his retainers. Your first priority will always be him and if he hinders you from doing your job because he doesn't want you to be in danger, it would end badly."

_Wasn't this what Wolfram was pointing out? Still, even if he and you say that, how can I stop from feeling this way?_

"I don't know if you can understand my feelings since you are the youngest..."

"I have a daughter, I understand your feelings very well." _What else would Wolfram say to this?_ "We all want Yuuri to be a good king. And we will always protect him. And I would smack sense into him if he does anything foolish."

Yes, that's what Wolfram would say. My mind went back to the battle before we left. I had gained some peace for that world, but I knew it was not enough. Pockets of violence still raged even within the borders of Shin Makoku. I was reminded of this everyday as soldiers marched to and fro in the courtyard. Imagining Wolfram in that battle, it made my chest constrict painfully.

I was so weak and useless without the power of the Maou. How was I suppose to protect the ones I loved if I could not even protect myself.

Shouri and I both jumped when a heavy thud landed on the coffee table. Our gaze traveled up to the smiling countenance of our Mom.

"Wol-chan, Shou-chan, you two look so serious--"

"What time is it!!! Crud, I'm going to be late," Shouri vaulted from his chair. "I'll see you later Mom."

"That's Mama Shou-chan and don't be late for dinner. We're having curry."

"Sure, sure," he muttered. "Ittekimasu" he yelled at the front door.

Both Mom and I answered, "Itterasshai!"

_Crap!_ "Um... Yuuri has been teaching me some phrases," I said. _Nice save_.

"That is so sweet of him," she replied, "I knew he was not a lost cause. After all, he snagged a beautiful person like you. I knew he always had something for blonds."

_Blond girls, Mom. Girls._

How did I snag Wolfram anyway? I still didn't understand that. I myself was amazed to have been chased to the ends of the world by such a gorgeous creature. For an average guy like me, it was rather flattering.

I spied the magazines that Mom had dumped on the table. Wedding magazines. _Don't tell me I'm going to spend the day planning my wedding with the blond bishonen. How could this day possibly get worse_?

"I got some newer magazines that you haven't seen," Mom said, "I thought you might want to take a look and see if any of the dresses catch your eye."

"Oh, thanks," I replied trying to suppress the overwhelming sarcasm in my voice.

"I had been thinking of going with the traditional white. At least for the wedding here. You can always go with a different color for the wedding in Shin Makoku."

I didn't even know we were going to have more than one wedding. I never imagined marrying a guy. I certainly didn't imagine marrying him more than once.

"But Mom—Mother, two men can't marry on Earth. That's what Yuuri says."

"Of course they can?"

_Huh?_

"I'd imagine Yuuri would want to get married in Boston, that's where he was born after all. If not, there's Toronto, that's a very beautiful city. Papa and I went there once for one of our honeymoons. It was romantic and they had the best Chinese food in the world."

_Better than China? Mom, you're not making any sense_.

I picked up a magazine and started flipping through it. I might as well keep my hands occupied before I blurted something bad. I paged through it while Mom continued her incessant recommendations; I started imagining Wolfram in the various dresses. I smiled evilly to myself. It would be fun to dress Wolfram up. This made me wonder why Wolfram kept this constant dialogue about dresses with my mom when he hated dressing up as a girl. I didn't like cross-dressing, but I complained ten times less than he did whenever we found ourselves being forced into feminine clothing. The only time he didn't complain was when he wore his nightgowns. Those he proudly wore.

I found myself enjoying the time with Mom when we got into serious discussions on what I liked. No this one was too fluffy. This one too simple. This one would make his chest look ridiculous. We didn't need a long train, he'd probably complain that it hindered his movements. The embroidery and pearls looked very pretty on that dress. In the end, Mom and I agreed that the best one was the traditional Japanese white wedding dress called shiro-maku.

"Do you think we can get the uchikake in blue?" I pondered aloud. That was the elaborate rich patterned silk brocade kimono that went over the shiro-maku. I thought Wolfram would really look good in blue.

"Ara, you don't think a red one would be better?"

"I think for his skin color, and hair, a royal blue would look good."

"Hmmm... I thought a nice rich red would look great with Yuu-chan's tan skin. But if you prefer blue..."

_Wait! Wait! WHAT!!! Wolfram had been picking a dress for me all this time!_

"MOM!!! You've been picking a dress for ME?!!!" _Oh crud, I just blew my cover_.

"Of course, we have."

I stopped. "You're not surprised?" I asked, "you knew it was me all along."

"Of course, Yuu-chan. Do you really think you could trick your mother so easily? And it's Mama."

I moaned and dropped my head in my hands.

"I still think the red uchikake would suit you more. I can't wait to tell Wol-chan. Perhaps we could go to the wedding shops, look at some fabric and perhaps even try one on. Oh! This is so exciting!"

"Why me? I thought, you've been shopping for a dress for him."

"But he's the more masculine one, it only stands to reason that you would wear the dress."

"I cannot believe you are saying this to your own son." What was I saying? This was the woman that used to dress me up like a girl. Of course, she wouldn't pass up a chance to dress me again.

"I've always dreamed of having my daughter in a traditional Japanese wedding dress..."

"I'm not your daughter..."

"Close enough."

No one understood the pain this average boy went through. Between my gung-ho mother, my overprotective brother and my violent fiancé, I never had a chance of living a normal life. Just for once, I would like them to be in my shoes. I wish they would understand...

A wish...

I wished Wolfram could understand me more...

Don't tell me my life had suddenly turned into a cheesy Disney movie.

"Mom, I have to go," I cried out as I sped out the door.

* * *

A/N: Next Chapter - Wolfram goes to school


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Hi, thank you for reading this. Thanks especially to those who left a review. This chapter: Wolfram goes to school. A bunch of OCs here since we don't ever get to know any of Yuuri's classmates in canon (at least not that I'm aware of).

**Spoiler** Hashimoto Asami, however, is a canon character. And as with everything, I kept her details, her characterization and her relationship with Yuuri as close to canon as my talents and knowledge could possibly make them.**End Spoiler**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**--Wolfram--**

Going to school did not seem so hard. I felt a bit naked walking around without a sword. But since I hadn't had to kill anyone on the way here, it wasn't too bad. The Maou instructed me where to turn, what moving carriage to ride, where to sit, who to say hello to. He had asked if I would prefer to watch, but I turned him down. I thought I would learn more if I was the one who interacted with Yuuri's world. He had given me a mental shrug, "Whatever thou desires, beloved."

Since I had previously gone on a few trips with Yuuri and my brothers around Tokyo, I didn't marvel at the amount of double blacks. However, I was astonished when I got to Yuuri's school. I expected it, but I was still amazed by the sheer amount of Yuuri look-alikes. Of course, no one was as beautiful as Yuuri, but Günter would be bleeding a river if he were in my place.

As I walked towards the gate, I heard someone call out, "Oi! Shibuya-kun!" followed by a friendly slap on the back.

_Who is this guy? And why is he being so friendly?_

"Thy jealousy is adorable," the Maou answered, "but worry not my love, this is Ishida-kun, we usually join him for lunch. Along with that boy up ahead who awaits for us. His name is Takada. We address him as Takada-san."

_What is with the different address, which of them are soldiers who would sacrifice themselves for their country?_

"Neither, my darling. The different honorifics are not necessarily their titles, it is indicative of the relationship between the person being addressed and the one addressing them. We have known Ishida-kun since junior high, he also provides invaluable service to us in the baseball team we manage. Takada-san, on the other hand, made our acquaintance this year. And as in Shin Makoku, if two people are intimate or closely related, then we could dispense with the honorifics and call each other by our given name."

"I have been calling you and you've been ignoring me," Ishida-kun said.

"Good morning, Ishida-kun, I apologize, I did not hear you," I replied.

"What is with this formality? Are you practicing for an omiai?"

_What is that?! 'Look at each other'? Is my translation device working?_

"He speaks of an arranged marriage," the Maou answered.

_Yuuri is already spoken for, why would Mother and Father be arranging a marriage for him._

"Fear not, Ishida-kun is merely under the mistaken impression that he has wit."

_You mean like Conrart?_

"Exactly. Thou shall find that he speaks incessantly and almost exclusively about women."

"Hey Takada!" Ishida-kun yelled. "How did that group date go? Did you get lucky?"

"Good morning," Takada-san greeted. "Girls already, this early in the morning?"

"We're young men with raging hormones, what else is there to talk about? Or are you telling me you swing the other way? Would you prefer to talk about young men then?" Ishida-kun said derisively.

"For all we know, Ishida-san, all your bravado about girls is just a cover-up for your flaming homosexuality. Ne, Shibuya-san?"

I shouldn't really smack these two upside the heads, they were after all Yuuri's friends.

"I don't understand what the difference is exactly," I said tonelessly.

"What's wrong Shibuya-san? Are you still depressed about the Lions vs Tigers game?"

_Lions is Yuuri's team, right? Did they lose?_

"Yes, and 'twas a great misfortune that we could not bear witness to the game as our attention was occupied with important matters in Shin Makoku," the Maou replied in an aggrieved tone.

"I guess, I am," I said aloud, "I didn't even get to see the game. I had some responsibilities I needed to take care of."

The banter between the two continued until we passed the gates and entered one of the buildings. The Maou guided me to the shoe lockers. It was strange to have to change footwear just to attend class.

"Our classroom is the one marked 1-C," the Maou instructed. I followed the other students headed that way. The classroom was small and full of these tiny desks. I supposed for commoners these did the job well enough. I went to the chair the Maou indicated was Yuuri's and hung his bag on the desk.

I found myself enjoying the experience despite the constant concentration of listening to the Maou and trying to converse with the people around me. Once class started, it was easier.

The teacher entered the room.

"Rise," the class president commanded. I rose with the class.

"Attention," she continued.

"Be sure to bow at exactly the same time as the rest," the Maou instructed.

_Yes, I know._

"Bow."

Earth seemed to have a lot of these little traditions and ceremonies. Günter would probably enjoy learning each and every little nuance. Perhaps, I should drop a hint with Anissina of putting Günter's soul in a Japanese automaton.

One of the first things I learned was that the teacher to student ratio was not 1 to 1 nor even 1 to 5. Actually the class which consisted of every student in the room was instructed by several teachers. I supposed there were pros and cons to that. It would be useful to have an instructor teach only on his expertise, but one loses a bit when it came to student/teacher relationship.

I was about to commend them in encouraging unity by having the students stay in the same class when the Maou pointed out that they actually changed each year. I looked down at the form that Matsuda-san, the class president, had handed to each person. This piece of paper was going to be used to determine which class Yuuri would go into next year.

I couldn't read Earth writing but the Maou could. The form asked to list my top three career choices. Or rather, Yuuri's. The only thing I knew Yuuri ever wanted to be was to become a professional baseball player. A useless career choice in my opinion.

"By the way, Shibuya-kun, I don't think you're supposed to write catcher, pitcher, first baseman on the form," Ishida-kun teased.

"Hmmm... I suppose they also won't allow pimp and man-whore on there either," I retorted.

Several snickers broke around us.

"Ouch!" Ishida-kun answered, "When did you get such a barbed tongue?"

The whole day, each break between classes, we discussed nothing but the forms. I would be lying if I said I did not get caught in their dreams. This was so different from my world where one's future was decided by the station of one's birth. Here, one could dream. And perhaps, even taste those dreams. No matter whose parents one had the fortune or misfortune to be born to. Sakata-san wanted to be a doctor and was planning on going to Y-University. Nakamura-kun was going to take over his father's sushi shop. Kagawa wanted to go to an art school and become a painter or at least run an art gallery. Kuroda-san wanted to be a novelist but said she couldn't afford to continue school and she might help her mother run their store instead.

They teased me about Yuuri's dream of becoming a baseball player, though I found out a few other boys had the same dream though they wrote more realistic career choices on their forms.

It was strange to think that Yuuri had this whole life and future apart from me. Apart from Shin Makoku. I mean I knew in a theoretical sort of way. I supposed in my head, Earth only meant his family. I had not realized that most of his time was spent here, in these buildings, with these friends. Friends I did not know about. Futures I had no part of.

During lunch, I followed Ishida-kun and Takada-san to machines that dropped wrapped food when money was put in. The Maou said they were called vending machines. I would normally pick sweet things, but for some reason I did not feel like it. Perhaps, it was because I was in Yuuri's body. So I picked what Yuuri would have liked.

We brought our lunches outside and sat on the lawn and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. We were joined by one Nomura-san who brought a homemade lunch called bento. He was the only one in our group that had a girlfriend and she liked to cook. This was deemed a very fortunate thing as his enormous lunch was shared among us.

"Here's to Sasaki-chan," Ishida-kun said raising his canned drink, "may each one of us find one like her before the year is over."

"Is that the only thing you are looking for in a partner?" I asked, "Someone who could cook?"

"Of course, not," he answered. "She has to be pretty..."

"And smart," Takada-san added.

"With a gorgeous figure..."

"Maybe rich..."

"Good in bed."

"Definitely good in bed."

"Nomura-san, is Sasaki-chan good in bed?" I asked.

Nomura-san's drink came up his nose and he started spluttering. Takada-san who was closest to him started whacking him on the back which really didn't help since Nomura-san's face just got redder and redder.

Ishida-kun's face was almost as red from laughter. "Shibuya-kun. Ha-ha-ha. Shib-," he gasped. "Ha-ha... you're in fine form today, I can't... I can't believe you even got dignified Nomura."

"Nomura, you're not going to die of embarrassment, are you?" Takada-san asked.

When he calmed down, Nomura-san decided to redirect the conversation away from his personal life. "So what did you put down on your form Ishida?"

He pulled out the form in his pocket and showed us.

"P.E. Teacher, Athletic Coach, Accountant" the Maou read.

"The last one is for my parents," he said.

"P.E. Teacher?" Takada-san asked.

"Well... I've always liked playing baseball. I know I don't have the talents to become pro. But that doesn't mean I can't play it. Teaching kids how to play it would be just as good. Besides, I do like playing with kids."

"You are still a kid yourself," Nomura-san commented dryly.

"Still, I would have never thought you would go that route," Takada-san said.

"It's all thanks to Shibuya-kun," Ishida-kun replied.

"Yu-- Me?" I asked surprised. "What did I do?"

"Well, you had put so much effort in putting together our team and you had made it so successful. And everyone is thankful that you did. Because we love baseball and playing baseball is in our blood, you might say. I just can't let go of that feeling of being on the field. The feel of the ball in your hand, the smell of the gloves, the sound of the bat as it hits a fastball. I found I just couldn't give it up. I gave up being on the school team because I wanted to make my parents happy and concentrate on my studies so I could make it to a good college and make them proud of their son. But I guess in the end, I just couldn't let go of my dream. Silly, huh?"

"No," I said, "not at all."

In the end, on Yuuri's form, I wrote (with the Maou's help): first choice – King, second choice – Seibu Lions Baseball Player, third choice – Samurai. I gave it to Matsuda-san who upon reading went to my seat and slammed it on my desk.

"Shibuya-san, what is this?" she asked in an angry tone.

I looked at the piece of paper and said simply, "It's the career choice form."

"That's not what I meant. This is serious, what has gotten into you that you are using this as a big joke."

"I'm not joking," I frowned at her. "I don't understand what you're getting angry about."

"King?!! You wrote 'king' as your first choice."

"Yes, I did. This country does have a king right?"

"Yes, of course, it does. Which is why you can't be king."

"Does the king live forever?"

"No..."

"So someone else has to take over, right?"

"Yes..."

"So why can't that be me?"

"Because you're not part of the Imperial Family!"

"Ah! Well, I'll just marry into it then."

"Even if you marry into the Imperial Family, that still won't give you a chance to be king."

"Why not?"

"Because only men can inherit the throne."

"Then I'll just marry one of the male heirs... oh wait, that's not allowed here, is it?"

She gave a long suffering sigh.

"Well, Matsuda-san," Nomura-san said, "we can't be positive that in the future the Diet would not amend the Imperial House Law to allow women to succeed the throne especially since the Imperial Family would end with Prince Hisahito if no other male heirs are produced."

"See, so there is a possibility of me being king, right?"

"Why do you want to be the king? If you want to lead the country, why don't you just put Prime Minister?"

Prime Minister sounded like Gwendal_._

"Fine, I'll put Prime Minister," I said trying to mollify her. I didn't want to cause trouble for Yuuri.

"You can't put Prime Minister down!" she scolded.

"You told me to put it down."

"I was being sarcastic."

_Help here._

"But sweetheart," the deep voice of the Maou echoed in my head, "this is rather amusing."

_Wonderful._

"What do you want me to write down then?" I asked in a plaintive voice.

"I don't know, write politician."

"Fine." I took the paper, crossed out king and wrote 'Politician'. "There," I said smiling.

She blushed and then pointed at the second choice, "Um... this."

"What's wrong with this one?" I remonstrated. "Don't tell me that baseball is hereditary too."

I heard laughter explode beside me.

"Of course, not!" she massaged her forehead in the same way that Gwendal did when he was trying not to explode. "Are you trying to mess with me?"

"No... I just don't understand why I can't put down baseball player as a career choice."

"It's not that part, I suppose if you just cross out the Seibu Lions, then I would accept it."

"You could have just said that in the first place," I said as I crossed out the offending words. "Is the form perfect now? Or is the third one not up to your standards."

Again, with the long suffering sigh. Being class president must be a great burden.

"Being a samurai is actually hereditary," she said.

_Hey you in there._

"Yes, my dearest beloved, how can I serve thee," the Maou answered.

_Cut the sweet talk. The third one is yours. I told you, judge would fit you better. I'd even go for detective but you're not the most observant person in the world._

"Thou hast cut me down and wounded me!"

_I love you too._

"Well, Matsuda-san, you're right. Putting samurai is ridiculous. Which do you think would fit me better, judge or detective?"

"Frankly, neither," she replied heartlessly.

"Put down detective," Ishida-kun commented, "That's more exciting."

"I can't really picture Shibuya-san as a detective," Nomura-san opined. "He's not the most observant person in the world. Not the best student either so who knows if he would be able to make it as judge. Though if he did, he would make a better judge than detective."

"It doesn't really matter," I said, "I'm going to be king anyway."

"Fine, write judge," Matsuda-san relented. "You should really do better in your studies. You're not using your full potential."

_See, I'm not the only one who says it._

The only answer was a snort.

I was actually saddened when I heard the final bell because I had begun to like the people who cared for Yuuri here. It would most likely be the last time I would ever see them. I could only imagine how Yuuri felt when he had been faced with the decision of never seeing his family and friends. It must have felt infinitely worse. Perhaps even as painful as how I felt when he left.

I was one of the few who didn't have club activities after school. The Maou informed me that Yuuri briefly considered joining the Kendo club, but had given it up when he became Maou and when he created his baseball team.

Ishida-kun and I noticed a crowd of girls screaming to one side of the gate before we waved goodbye to each other. "Must be some idol," he said enviously. "Maybe, I should have put that as my first career choice."

I tried to go around the large crowd when I felt someone grab my wrist. I turned to see a girl with straight shoulder length black hair, black eyes and an unfamiliar uniform.

"Shibuya-san," she smiled, relief clearly written on her face, "I was afraid I was going to miss you."

_Who is this? Why is she wearing a different uniform? Who is she to Yuuri?_

"This is Hashimoto Asami, she attends a prestigious all-girls High School. You can call her Hashimoto," the Maou answered. "We were acquainted during one of Murata's school events."

"H-hello, Hashimoto-san. How are you?"

"Better, now that we're together."

What did she mean by that?_ She's a bit strange, _I thought.

"I agree," the Maou replied.

"Where we supposed to meet?" I finally asked.

"Yes. No. Not exactly. I mean we never put down a date and time..."

I felt like I was playing a guessing game.

"I haven't seen you in a while," she continued, "but Murata-san said you had been very busy with school and your baseball team. I thought I'd catch you on your way home and we could spend some time together."

"Okay..." I replied apprehensively. I supposed if this was one of Yuuri's friends, I might as well spend time with her too.

As we walked away from the crowd, I thought I heard my name being called out. Not Yuuri's name, but mine. I turned but I saw no one other than the gaggle of squealing girls.

"Is there something wrong?" Hashimoto asked.

"No... what are they ogling over there anyway?"

"Oh, just a foreign pretty boy," she replied trying to be nonchalant, though the blush on her cheeks betrayed her interest.

"I guess you were not interested? I mean, I could wait for you if you want to look with the other girls."

She gave me a strange look as if I just said something terrible.

"Or not," I added belatedly.

"Now that we're together, I have no interest in other men."

"You don't have to be so serious about it," I shrugged. "It doesn't bother me if my companions do not keep their full attention on me."

"Is that how you feel?" her voice carried a little bit of confusion and a little bit of fear.

_Okay, you in there, what the hell is going on? What is wrong with this girl?_

"Frankly, my angel, she has always struck me as being a bit odd," the Maou said.

_You are no help._

"Maybe...?" I answered aloud.

Her face broke in an explosion of emotion. Her eyebrows went vertical as if they could not believe what her ears heard. Her eyes were damp and her lips were turned down impossibly. Her nose was scrunched up as if it was trying hard not to snivel.

"Perhaps thou should have answered in the negative," the Maou gave his unsolicited opinion.

She turned her face away and I heard her take a deep breath. Her face was a little bit more composed when she turned back. She forced a smile on her face. "It's probably because we haven't spent much time together in a while," she said bravely, "that's it! We just need to spend more time together."

With that, she gave a very big determined smile and grabbed my hand and dragged me through the streets.

"Hashimoto, it would be easier for me to walk if you would let go."

"No, now that I have you Shibuya-san, we're going to have a nice date."

"A date?"

_What's a date?_

"It is but one of her quirks, a tendency to spout strange declarations."

"Look, I know you didn't formally ask me out on a date, but since we're boyfriend-girlfriend—-"

I didn't hear anything past _boyfriend-girlfriend_, I just stared at her mouth open and close.

"Beloved... Wolfram..."

The Maou was about to take control of Yuuri's body when I failed to respond, but I gave myself a mental shake and stopped him. _It's alright._

"My love..."

The smile on my face might have been a little bittersweet, but I followed Hashimoto willingly to a cafe.

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter - Audrey gets dessert


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Notes: Hello. Thank you very much for all the reviews last chapter. It really warmed my heart. At any rate, there were questions I wanted to answer but I will put them in an notes at the end of this chapter. By the way, I think many readers had forgotten that Hashimoto first appeared in Chapter 1.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**--Yuuri--**

It was my fault for losing Wolfram. I had been too impatient.

When I had my epiphany during my conversation with Mom, I rushed out of the house and headed straight to the arcade searching for the wisecracking, fortune telling plant. I thought it would be easy. Just ask the plant to reverse the spell or whatever it was that got me stuck in Wolfram's body, and everything would go back to normal. Or as normal as my life had ever been since getting sucked through a western-style toilet and landing in the demon kingdom.

But no, it couldn't be that easy, could it? I didn't know what gods or nefarious conspiracy had it in for me. When I got to the plant, I was high from the relief of actually finding it. To tell the truth, I had been afraid that I had dreamt the whole arcade episode with the machine and Murata and Hashimoto. Then I was afraid that they had replaced the machine with a newer, fancier, video game. Then I was afraid that the arcade had gone bankrupt and was replaced by a cosplay cafe. Then my imagination really went wild and I pictured a meteor landing on the arcade as I was about to go in. This was replaced with a scene of Godzilla stepping on the building.

What I didn't foresee was that the fortune telling machine would act exactly like a fortune telling machine and not at all like a magical plant that granted wishes. I yelled at it and pounded on the glass and... nothing. I begged and I pleaded. And I explained that it was me, that hapless kid it gave a wish to. I was lucky that it was a school day and it was during school hours and the place was empty. If not, I was sure someone would have reported to the police that a crazy foreigner was trying to beat up a video game.

_I know_, I said to myself. I searched my pockets for some coins and went to exchange a 500 yen coin for some 100 yen coins. I dropped one in the machine and watched the lights flash. The "See Your Future" sign lit up.

"Okay, now talk to me," I ordered.

Nothing.

I picked up the white card, it said, "Perseverance pays off."

I went rapidly through the other coins.

"To lift a heavy object, brains are more useful than brawns."

"Big jobs are not done by the work of one big person but by the hard work of many regular persons."

"Don't be a fool, stay in school."

"There are no magical solutions."

Now, it was just making fun of me. Are these some kind of screwed up Confucian sayings? Where was the one that told me I was going to marry the man of my dreams? I stuck all the cards in my pocket and I spent the next hour or so alternating between yelling at the plant, sitting on a chair while grumbling at it, pleading with it, walking back and forth in front of it and hitting my head on various objects. I decided at one point that it might be better to think with a full stomach so I went to hunt for some snacks.

I found myself in front of a pastry shop, my mouth watering at the display of cakes and tarts and all other sorts of desserts that Wolfram would love. I went in and came out an hour later with a big bag of pastries. I was still sort of confused at what exactly happened. I walked in examining the goods in the display shelves when I heard a high pitched squeal come from behind the counter. The next thing I knew I was having a strange argument with the shopkeepers regarding payment. They kept insisting that I didn't need to pay, and I kept insisting with great embarrassment that I did indeed needed to pay. In the end, I agreed to pose for pictures with various pastries as payment for the huge amount of sweets they shoved at me.

I was musing about the usefulness of Wolfram's pretty face as I sat in front of the fortune telling machine eating a piece of strawberry shortcake when the silence was broken by a rather loud 'ahem' which made me almost fall out of my seat.

"Where is my piece?" The plant was finally talking!

"All you wanted was a piece of cake?!" I asked incredulously. "If you would have just stated that in the first place, you could have saved me a lot of time and worry."

"Why should I? You're the one who forgot your promise to bring me something sweet."

A door opened and a tray slid out right below the glass. I opened a piece of apple torte and placed it and a plastic spork on the tray. The tray slid back in, the door closed and I watched the tray rise towards the plant. The plant picked up the spork with one of its leaves and it uttered a "hmmm...hmmm...hmmm". That was one happy plant. I let it enjoy every sporkful of torte while I finished mine before asking it questions.

After it literally licked the container clean, I asked, "Did you want another one?"

It nodded emphatically.

The tray slid out again and I took the empty container and replaced it with another containing a piece of chocolate cake.

I laughed when I heard it moaned an appreciative "ohhhh..." and wiggled its leaves in delight.

"So..." I started, "can you reverse whatever it is you did?"

"Sure," it replied in between bites.

"That's it? Do I just wake up tomorrow in the correct body?"

It snickered derisively. Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy. What had I been thinking?

"No, of course, it's not going to be that easy," it echoed my thoughts. _You don't have to say exactly what I was thinking. _"If life was that easy, we wouldn't need to try," it continued. "Anyway, undoing something is ten times more difficult than doing it in the first place. That's why you should always be careful of what you wish for."

"You tell me this now? Why didn't you say so before?"

"Your parents and cheesy movies had not taught you that? One would think someone at your age would know."

"Look, just tell me how to reverse this whatever this is."

"Bring me the other guy and then I could do my hocus pocus abracadabra thingamajig."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Do you want to find out?"

"Not really."

It gave me a chocolate covered evil smirk.

I raced to my house to get Wolfram only to realize that he had gone to school in my place. With nothing else to do, I wore an anxious path in front of the television in the living room until my mom brought out a bunch of dresses and started sizing me up. I ran away to my bedroom as fast as I could as soon as her back was turned. After making sure the door was locked, I fell on my bed and tried taking a nap. That didn't work so I stared at the clock and watched each second pass by. Yes, I could have been doing something more useful like finding something to hide Wolfram's looks. But I was too anxious to be able to think. And I paid for it.

It was a mistake to go to my school in Wolfram's body. Super-bishonen plus high school girls could only result in one thing. Chaos. I had spied Wolfram and I had tried calling out to him. However, the crowd of relentless girls that pushed and pulled and took my picture and asked for my autograph did not part when I tried to catch up with him. I could do nothing but watch him leave with Hashimoto, the girl from the prestigious all-girls high school.

It probably would have been a better idea to wait for Murata first since he went to an all-boys school devoid of girls who would squeal at the sight of a blond-haired, emerald-eyed, foreign looking bishonen. Damn Wolfram and his good looks. It was irritating enough when I had taken him around Tokyo and I had to constantly shoo picture-obsessed girls and their cell phones. He should really be thankful that I provided that service for him. If I had picked up Murata first, he could have played bodyguard for me.

Someone up there must have still liked me though because I heard someone yelling, "Hey look it's Matsujun!" A low murmur picked up the call and there were disbelieving yet hopeful whispers of 'Matsujun' and, reluctantly, the tight crowd of bodies around me loosened. All of a sudden, I felt a hand wrap around my wrist and felt my body being pulled away. I found myself running behind Murata and I started laughing out loud.

When we turned a corner, he stopped, turned around and slammed a knit hat on my head. He handed me a pair of sunglasses.

"Shibuya, you really do know how to attract trouble, don't you?"

"Thanks, Murata, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along. But guess what! I figured it out."

"I wonder if that's a first for you..."

I ignored the taunt. "First we have to go find Wolfram. Hashimoto came by and grabbed him before I could get to him."

"Your fiancé and your girlfriend hanging out together, you really do know how to attract trouble."

"She's not my girlfriend. I don't know why she says things like that."

"I wonder if your jealous prince would agree."

"Just help me find them. Where does she normally hang out? What does she like?"

"Don't you know?"

"Um... no...???"

"What does Lord von Bielefeld like?"

"Sweets. I guess we can check the pastry shops," I said thinking some more of where the blond would most likely go. "He likes to paint... but there are no museums around and he wouldn't want to check the art stores here. He prefers his bearbee paint. Perhaps the library, but he doesn't read Japanese unless the Maou is helping him out. There are no martial arts store around here so he couldn't have gone there. He could be shopping for dresses for Greta..."

"Let's check the new cosplay cafe."

"Wolfram wouldn't be interested in that. Unless they have a good selection of desserts."

"Wouldn't you think it would be Hashimoto that would be dragging him around and not the other way?"

"Oh, I see.... Then why did you ask what Wolfram liked?"

"Just making sure of something."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wolfram was acting very odd. He was quiet and contemplative; his eyes were constantly getting that far-away look. Worst of all, he was not jealous. He should have hit me several times by now. Half my class consisted of females and he just went on what looked like, for all intents and purposes, a date with Hashimoto. I was worried. The only time Wolfram got like this was when he was possessed. But considering the fact that I was currently possessing Wolfram's body, I thought it best not to delve too deeply. Maybe, once we were back to our own selves, he would get back to normal. I couldn't believe I was actually looking forward to jealous Wolfram's domestic abuse. Well, I would take jealous Wolfram over possessed Wolfram any day.

Part of normal Wolfram came back when we got to the fortune telling machine and I explained to him what had happened.

"This?" he pointed incredulously to the strange looking talking plant. "This is the cause for all this trouble? You made a wish on an overgrown, strange-looking flower bud with big lips and sharp teeth? Tell me again, Yuuri, I think I missed it, what did you wish for?"

"Well, that doesn't matter now," I said steering him closer to the machine and away from the curious eyes of other customers. "I think what matters right now is undoing this. So let me introduce you. Wolfram, this is..." I paused, did the plant even have a name? "This is Mr. Plant. Mr. Plant, this is the guy I was telling you about."

"Ah yes, the pretty boy you're obsessed about," Mr. Plant replied.

I ignored the remark. And Wolfram clearly ignored it also.

And we waited.

And...

"Um... excuse me. Are we waiting for something?" I asked.

"Oh! You wanted me to do something!" it replied.

I wished I could break the glass and strangle... or better yet, I could go find some garden shears.

"You could have just ask instead of standing there looking stupid," it continued. "All you have to do is kiss."

"What?!!"

"In public? I can't do that. Yuuri, we'll just do it when we go home."

"Oh no, I have to see it. You see I need proof that it happened."

"Well, I'm not waiting to get home to get back in my own body, isn't there any other way?"

"Sure, there's another way."

"Great!"

"You can wait a hundred years and see if you can find another wishing plant."

"You don't have to be so sarcastic about it."

"You don't have to be so irksome about it."

"Alright already... I'm sorry Wolf, I know how you feel about public displays of affection, but..." I paused after one look at Wolfram and turned back to the plant, "Look, do we have to do it here? I mean, can't we do it somewhere more private? If all you need is proof, perhaps, we can get one witness..." I thought we could go back to the cosplay cafe and grab Murata even though that would mean facing Hashimoto again. Then it struck me, "... or we can go to that booth over there and just take a picture." _Gods! Please say yes._

"Fine, but it's lips to lips not lips to cheek or cheek to lips or cheek to cheek..." then it added, "unless it's the other cheek." It snorted at its own joke.

At the very least, Wolfram had started to act like himself if the rise in temperature at the insult was any indication. Before he could find an outlet to his sudden ire, I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the photo booth. It was a misfortune that it wasn't one of those booths that you stepped inside and you were almost completely cut off from the rest of the room. No, it was one of those where the only thing that separated you and the only thing that gave you a little privacy was a flimsy curtain. It was at least better than kissing in plain sight in front of everyone. I hoped it was good enough for Mr. Prude.

Honestly, I didn't understand him at times. He was so contradictory. He refused to take his shirt off in front of a few people and then he showed up naked in my bed. This was like the cross-dressing thing.

I made sure the curtain completely closed us off before I put the money in the slot. I clicked on random choices for backgrounds and frames and whatnot. I really didn't care as long as the plant was satisfied. Once done, I explained to my companion, "Okay, as soon as I click on this button, we'll have to kiss to make sure the camera gets it. Or maybe we should start kissing before I push the button just to be on the safe side."

Wolfram still looked very hesitant, "I don't know Yuuri, this feels really really odd."

"Look, I know we're both guys and it's weird for two guys to kiss. But we've kissed at least once, right? I mean, I don't know if you can count that since you were possessed and I was tied up. But, it's not as if we don't remember how to do it.... Besides weren't you willing to even go all the way," I stopped talking because my face felt really hot.

"You imbecile, it's not that! I find it odd to be kissing my own self."

"Oh yeah..." not that I forgot, but I just wanted the whole problem put behind me. "Look, just close your eyes and we can pretend we're not kissing our own faces."

"You'd better not be pretending I'm a girl."

"No, I'll be pretending you're you with golden hair, angelic face, demon grace, eyes like the bottom of a lake, prettier than any girl and all that junk. Let's just get this over with. Don't you want to be in your own body?"

He didn't look like he was getting convinced. No help for it. I pushed the button, grabbed him and closed my eyes. I plastered my lips on his. Click!

Success! There we were Wolfram and I kissing with a bunch of sappy flowers and shoujo bubbles in the background and surrounding us.

"Hmph! It looked like I grabbed you and sexually harassed you."

Yeah, I could see that. The Wolfram in the picture was grabbing Yuuri's shoulders who looked with wide-eyed astonishment.

"It's not as if anyone is going to see this. And we both know who's who. Besides, don't you love me? I mean we're engaged so it doesn't matter who kissed who in one picture."

His face become violently red and he wouldn't meet my eyes. I must be really freaked out because I had no idea why I was mentioning those things. I was not a perfect person, but one thing I found irritating about myself and which incidentally Wolfram also found irritating was my tendency to babble nonsense when nervous. But once the words were out of my mouth, it wasn't as if I could take them back so I just left them as they were. I dragged him out of the photo machine and back to the fortune telling machine. Once there, I plastered the picture on the glass in front of the plant.

"Ohohoho!!! You're so aggressive there."

The tray in front slid out and I placed the photo on top. Once again, the tray slid back in, the doors closed and the plant picked up the picture with its leaves.

"Love the background choice. So romantic," the plant faked a sigh while holding the photo. It turned around and slid the picture in a hidden slot. It was rubbing two leaves together like hands when he turned around, "now where were we?"

"You're going to correct this mishap," I replied tonelessly.

It flashed all its pointy teeth at us. I could almost hear maniacal laughing but it didn't quite go that far. I could only hear low suppressed sniggering.

The tray slid out again and I saw two pills on it, a blue one and a red one.

"All you need to do is take those pills..."

"What is this, the Matrix?!" _I mean how many movie references can this plant squeeze into this scenario?_

"May-what?"

"Never mind."

"Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, you will each put a pill in your mouth, it doesn't matter who gets the blue one or the red one. Just place them on your tongue and then you just need to exchange. Once that's done, you'll be back in your own bodies."

"W-W-What?! Your instructions do not make sense. So we stick these in our mouths and then we take them out and exchange them?"

"No."

"Yuuri, I think he wants us to kiss again."

"W-W-What?!"

"You know kid, you're probably the most repetitive person I've ever met. I didn't really believe anybody could be so clueless."

"Why do we have to do that?"

"You don't have to."

"If we don't have to, then why are you telling us to do it?"

"I thought you wanted to get back to your own bodies."

"..." I swore the plant was trying to make my head implode.

"You don't have to do it. You can just as easily spend the rest of your lives in the wrong bodies."

"Plant," Wolfram spoke, "from what I understand, you want us to put the pills in our mouth, kiss and exchange them."

"Right."

"The change should be instantaneous, correct? Once the pills have been exchanged."

"Correct."

"What happens if two pills ended up in the same body."

"I would not recommend ending the kiss if one person had both pills."

"I see. Do we have to do it in front of you."

"No."

"Good. Come on, Yuuri, let's go home."

"Wait! What's happening?"

"And make sure to swallow," the plant called out as we exited the arcade.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I was still unsure what exactly was supposed to happen when we sat down on my bed after dinner. From what Wolfram explained, it would take a lot of skill. I moved my tongue around simulating what I was supposed to do.

"I don't know Wolf. Can we really get this done? I'd hate to mess up and we both end up in the same body. It's not as if we've done this kind of thing before."

"Speak for yourself. You're the only inexperienced one around here."

"Aw come on. Don't be like that."

"Perhaps we should turn off the lights. It's really a big turn off to be kissing myself."

"Really? But you're so pretty."

"You like kissing yourself?"

"No..." What the hell was I babbling about now? I was just so nervous about this. Kissing with just lips touching was one thing. You just press your lips on the other, no skills needed, right? Kissing with tongue involved was wholly on a different level. Not to mention that I would be doing this with a boy. And to my own body. This was not really how I pictured my first make-out session.

Wolfram heaved a big sigh of defeat, "Let's just get this over and done with. It's not as if we really have a choice. Close your eyes wimp."

He put the pill in his mouth and I copied him. I closed my eyes... and opened them again to see where he was. My face (my face!) was inches away with eyes shut tight as if Wolfram was trying to make sure no image of his face leaked into his vision. I closed my eyes quickly before I could think any further on what was happening.

I felt his lips land on mine and I opened my lips a little. I felt his tongue slide in a little. I tried not to swallow since the red pill was on my tongue. His tongue touched the tip of my tongue and nudged it upwards. I complied and I felt the blue pill slide below my tongue. I slowly took a deep breath as his tongue withdrew from my mouth. I followed his with mine past his open lips. I had my tongue stuck in another boy's mouth (who just happened to have my body)! I slowly slid the pill into his mouth.

We had decided that if it did not work the first time, we could keep trying as long as we didn't part before making sure each of us both had one pill.

Our lips parted and intense pain shot through my head. I felt like I was being pulled apart and squeezed together at the same time. I saw flashes of light so bright that everything darkened. I didn't know how long it lasted but it seemed like an eternity. I fell on the bed sweating trying to catch my breath. I opened my eyes slowly and turned my head to my companion. My perspective had changed, I felt a little disoriented. I turned the other way and found him. Golden hair hung limply on his pale face and I could see beads of sweat on his brow. He was putting quite an effort to breath normally.

I moved towards him and placed a protective arm over him. I placed my head on that spot between his neck and collarbone and I breathed his scent.

"I'm sorry, Wolf," I whispered. I felt horrible for having him go through that ordeal. And what for? Just from my careless words.

"I can't hear the Maou anymore," his voice sounded so lonely that I felt my chest go through that same pain my head just went through. "But you're here," he continued, "my Yuuri is back whole and you're by my side."

I tightened my arm around him and I felt his arms surround me. We stayed in that position for a long time, not saying anything, almost not daring to breath. We would have probably stayed like that all night if it wasn't for my brother who barged in my room and seeing us in that position started shouting that his Yuu-chan was still too young to be having sexual relations. But if I did indeed think I was ready, he could guide me through the perils of homosexual intimacy, not that he's had any experience in that particular area, mind you, he added.

I did not wait for my mom to join in in whatever crazy idea was going through Shouri's demented head, I grabbed Wolfram and dragged him to the bathroom and we jumped in the tub before Shouri could catch up.

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter - the Maou achieves his goal

**More Author's Notes: tl;dr (too long; don't read)  
**

**Is Hashimoto Asami really a canon character? When did she appear?:** Yes, she is a canon character. She first appeared in novel 6. She met Yuuri at Murata's school's Culture Fest. She immediately declared herself Yuuri's girlfriend. Upon her demand for his phone number, he gives her Murata's phone number stating that whatever message she gives Murata would get to him.

**Why hasn't wolfy gone all `i will kill you' on this chic?:** Because of character development. Putting aside his manly character in the novels, Wolfram went through a lot of growth in the progress of the anime. This story definitely occurred after episode 92 (since Yuuri references the incidents in that episode). Wolfram had by this time certainly outgrown some of his personality quirks from when he first met Yuuri. For one, his place by Yuuri's side is more established, he no longer yells CHEATER! every three seconds. The worst he got in Season 3 was making terribly amusing faces when Sara held Yuuri's hand.

Now on to the novel side of things. For this fic, I took a lot of from the novels especially the main characters' personalities and way of narration since the novels are written from Yuuri's first person POV as a majority of this fanfiction is. In the novels, Wolfram is manlier than in the anime. IMHO, he is not the one-dimensional jealous loudmouth or angsty heartbroken emo many fanfics portray him to be whose first priority is getting Yuuri's love. His main obsession is making Yuuri a good king (even in the anime, this is his main obsession -- points to OVA 3 and S3's first arc). Wolfram is a very strong person who doesn't weep and cry at the drop of a hat, he may feel a little bit of insecurity especially at the beginning because he is not as good as his brothers and Gunter and is not secure on how he fits into Yuuri's life. There was a Drama CD that he states this and asks Yuuri, "Whatever happens, you'll always let me be at your side right?" and Yuuri answered (after getting all embarrassed), "yes". You can read that drama here: http :// community (dot) livejournal (dot) com / kkm_wolframfans / 133199 (dot) html. It's really cute. XD

**Wedding dresses and cross-dressing:** Neither boy likes cross-dressing though the anime shows Yuuri is more comfortable with it than Wolfram (I am not counting Wolfram's nightgown). There are official pictures of Wolfram in a wedding dress and there are official pictures of Yuuri in a wedding dress. In a PS2 game, Yuuri was willing to marry Wolfram but backed out because he thought they were playing an April Fool's joke on him when Celi told him he is going to wear a black wedding dress and that they will parade him through the capital. (Wolfram was going to wear a white one and yes, Celi already had the dresses made.)


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes:** This is the final chapter. Thank you everyone who has stuck with this story. Special thanks for all the readers who reviewed and put this on their favorite/alerts. Isn't it kinda scary but flattering when canon starts following your fanfic? Final chapter: back in Shin Makoku, Yuuri and Wolfram face their fears...some of them. All your questions may not be answered.

There are more A/N notes at the end.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**--Yuuri--**

Conrad was sitting on our bed in his pajamas reading a story to Greta. I was barely paying attention, but I was sure it was about Poison Lady Anissina. Probably beating up a kraken or some other malevolent monster. Most likely male. Because if it were female, the Poison Lady Anissina would have recruited her into her 'Advancing Women Everywhere Using Reason' agenda.

"And so Poison Lady Anissina rode into the sunset in her Take-Me-Anywhere-kun because we all know horses deserve vacations some time," Conrad read.

"I can't wait to grow up," Greta chatted with excitement, "I will be exactly like Poison Lady Anissina, righting wrongs, defending justice, spreading wisdom throughout the land!"

"Well, let's not be too hasty Greta," I started but she was already asleep. "Wow, so fast. I don't know if she's trying to beat Wolfram on how quickly she can fall asleep."

"Growing children do need their sleep, Yuuri," Conrart said giving me a warm smile. "I am sorry for causing you to worry," he added when he saw the surprise on my face. "It was not my intent for you to witness such terrible things."

"No, Conrad, I need to know these things. I am the king after all."

My thoughts wandered to the meeting earlier in Conrad's room. I would have gone directly there from the fountain if Wolfram had not ordered me to get dressed properly. My advisor and tutor, knowing my stubbornness, had thought it better to bring my paperwork there instead of trying to extricate me from my seat by Conrad's bed. Wolfram didn't point out that Conrad was well enough for me not to carry a vigil. He merely instructed the maids to bring food for me and brought Greta to me at one point.

The meeting had been one of the worst I've ever had the misfortune to attend. Gwendal had been blunt about the damage and the casualties of the skirmish. What shocked me the most was that it had been merely a skirmish. Not a full blown war or even a proper battle. It almost sounded as casual as going out to dinner, 'hey you wanna go out and catch a movie and perhaps have a little skirmish afterwards?'

Perhaps it was this or maybe it was a sense of self-preservation that I listened to Gwendal with a clinical sort of detachment as he listed the number of soldiers dead, the number injured, the number of prisoners, the number of civilians, men, women and children who died, were injured or lost their home and livelihood, the extent of the damage on the farms, on the village, on the land itself. They were all just numbers with no meaning behind them. And it was because of this detachment that I noticed the internal dispute going on between Günter, Gwendal and Wolfram. It was as if they were carrying an argument that they had been having before the meeting except instead of debating with their voices, they were debating with their eyes. When I gazed towards Conrad to see what he thought of this, he and Josak, who had carried in a report to Gwendal and whom no one had the temerity to dismiss, were also locked into their own battle. Josak was giving Conrad the same look that Wolfram gave me when he deemed I was doing something stupid. It was as if someone had forgotten to tell my advisors the objective of the meeting and they were just going all over the place on their own.

If Murata had been here, there would have been a greater sense of unity... and that was the problem. My problem.

Murata had elected to stay on Earth. He wouldn't tell me why exactly, he just said he had an errand to run. I couldn't imagine what errand was important enough. It wasn't time for finals, there were no school festivities anytime soon. I almost laughed out loud at the absurdity that I should ever worry about a school test or winning in the sports fest when there were people who were dying because of my impotence.

Conrad had put away the book and tucked Greta in under the blankets. I was sure he was about to give me some more consoling words of wisdom when there was a knock. There was an almost unbelievably guilty and fearful look that passed on his face as the door opened to let in Gisela.

"I know, I know," he said cutting off whatever admonishment was on the healer's lips, "I should be in bed. Though I should point out that I am still in my pajamas and have not even deigned to look at my uniform."

Gisela's countenance would have made a platoon of soldiers quake in fear. "I am not going to tell you again. I expected a little bit more from you Lord Weller."

"Yes, yes, I'm heading to bed now. Good night, Your Majesty, Gisela."

He went out the door and I heard Josak's voice, "See, I told you. I did try to keep her away, but even I, Josak Gurrier, will not get in the way when Gisela-chan is on the war-path."

The door closed leaving me with the healer and a sleeping Greta.

"I've checked on His Excellency Wolfram and he is one hundred percent healthy. I am not sure what caused the symptoms from several days ago, but he is quite back to his old self."

"Thank you Gisela. Do you happen to know where he is?" Wolfram should have been done dressing by now and should have been in bed already. He normally dressed in our room, but there were times, either when he was late or when he was fulfilling other responsibilities, that he would change in his room. And he always informed me if he was not planning on joining me to bed. It was one of those things that had become normal.

"No, Your Majesty, I have not seen him since his checkup. By the way, Dakaskos asked me to hand you these," she handed me several white cards that had seen better days. I recognized them as the fortunes I got from the fortune telling machine. "The maids had found them in your clothes while they were doing laundry, they asked him to give them to you, but since I was on my way here already."

"Thanks," I said taking the cards.

"Good night, Your Majesty," she said as she left.

It wasn't as if I couldn't sleep without my fiancé. I did it all the time on Earth and had done it several times in Shin Makoku. It wasn't as if he was some sort of sleeping potion, and I wasn't so addicted to his scent that I would become an insomniac without him. But I knew I wouldn't be able to rest that night without at least talking to him. I barely saw him the rest of the day since we got back. He was there for the meeting and he spent some time with me when he and Greta came to visit Conrad. Otherwise, he had been fairly occupied.

I found him in his bedroom sitting by the window with a faraway look on his face. He turned casually to me when he heard my footsteps and said, "Oh hey wimp, what are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you."

"You could have just ordered a guard to get me. Where's Greta?"

"She's asleep already, we waited a bit for you but you didn't come."

"Is it that late already?"

I sat on the bed and watched him gaze outside again. I answered absentmindedly playing with the cards Gisela handed earlier, "yeah, it's that late already."

He walked away from the window and sat beside me. "You know," he said, "I'm your fiancé. If something is bothering you... that's what I'm here for."

It had been easy to keep it all bottled up while we were on Earth. But even here at the castle, I was able to keep a distance from it. But once he was there by my side, I couldn't help but let it all out. I would have covered my face with my hands, but he had wrapped his arms around me in that familiar way that he did whenever I had these rare breakdowns. I crumpled the white cards in my hand as I clutched at the pink fabric of his nightgown and cried in his chest. He was really the only one who saw me for what I was, a wimp. He did not see me as the savior of the universe, an exalted being wise and perfect. He did not give me the grudging respect that Gwendal and Josak gave nor the unconditional love and understanding from Conrad that was both comforting and unnerving.

No, Wolfram demanded things from me. He demanded that I be a better king, a better student, a better father, a better everything else. When everyone was celebrating the victories of the Maou, he would be pointing out the things I could have done better. 'Yes, that was impressive Majutsu and you did manage to save those people. But couldn't you find a less disgusting way to summon your Maryoku?'

"Yuuri, no one with any sort of intelligence expects you to solve all of the world's problems in a few short years let alone a few short months," he said quietly. "One lifetime is not enough. Several lifetimes are not enough. No matter how powerful you are."

"But they did, that village, they expected that I would be able to protect them. I failed."

"Some of them will understand and some of them won't. It is useless to look to the past, you can't go back in time and undo your mistakes. The only thing you could do is go forward and find solutions in the present and the future," he paused as he rubbed my back with comforting caresses. "What are you so afraid of?"

"What if there are no solutions? What if... what if..." I sighed. I didn't really know how to say it.

"Spit it out wimp!" he chided.

"What if I lose my powers?" I snivelled, "What if tomorrow, I wake up and I no longer have the power of the Maou? What if I'm just me, the wimpy Yuuri who's just a high school kid? What happens then?"

"Gods, you're such an idiot."

Somehow those words actually made me felt better. I looked up at him and gave him a pitiful smile, "I know. That's it. I am an idiot. We keep having the same conversation... I keep thinking when I make a big resolution that, yes, I am king, I will handle these responsibilities. But then something stupid thing like this comes up and I'm questioning myself again."

"It's a sign of a terrible leader not to question one's self. It's a sign of a despot."

"But what if I did lose my powers? How am I supposed to lead this kingdom? I have been lucky all this time because I have insane powers..."

"Do you think we follow you because of those?"

"Don't you?"

"No, wimp. In the beginning, we followed you because Shinou told us to. He picked you as Maou and we had no choice but to comply. However, we kept following you not because you had, as you call them, insane powers. It's not the Maou's powers that have created the peace we are now enjoying. It's not because of those powers that other nations have aligned with us."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Look, this might be a bit blasphemous, but even the great Shinou could not hold on to the peace that you have brought. Sure there were other things that destabilized the world at the time, but there are no magical solutions Yuuri. If there were, we would have had peace a long time ago. All we have and what you have a lot of is perseverance. You never gave up on your ideals. Even in the face of a whole country, a whole world, that said otherwise. We followed you because Shinou told us, but we kept following you because we saw the wisdom in your ideals."

"And what would have happened if the Maou's powers weren't there to establish those victories?"

"Then we would have done it for you. The demon kingdom's army is not just there for looks, you know. It might have taken us longer, but we would have accomplished it eventually.... What you don't believe in us?"

"I-I... I do. I just feel sometimes that you guys shouldn't believe in me that much..."

He smacked me!

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You're the leader. You know what leaders do?"

"..."

"They lead!"

This guy! Just when I think he was about to spout some words of wisdom, he tells me the most obvious things. "Of course they lead!" I replied.

"Then how come you can't get that through that thick head of yours. One would think it's the most obvious thing."

I gave him a questioning look. And he gave me a big sigh.

"What kind of leader would want his followers not to believe in him? You lead. That means you'll be at the front. You can't always be looking back to make sure that everyone is behind you. Or else you'll always be stumbling. A good leader has to put faith in his followers that they would follow. So that you," he said as he poked me on the forehead, "can concentrate on where you're taking us."

"Ow," I complained rubbing my forehead.

"And don't think for one second that all we're doing is following and expecting you to do everything. That's not your job. Our job is to accomplish what you tell us to. A leader does not fulfill the tasks himself. It's called de-le-ga-tion. Learn it. You're worried about being able to lead. Tell you what, if you're so afraid you would be nothing without the Maou, why don't you try improving yourself. Try and study more with Günter instead of running off playing baseball or gods know what else. Brains have solved more problems than sheer physical strength."

"You, Wolfram, are saying that?"

"What are you trying to insinuate?"

"Nothing," I laid on the bed and stared at the canopy quietly crumpling the cards in my hand over and over. I didn't know why arguing with him made me feel better, made me more sure of myself. I supposed in the face of my biggest critic, if he believed in me, then I should also believe in myself.

"Come on, let's go to bed," he said.

"Let's stay here," I replied. "I don't want to bother Greta. She's probably taking up more than half of the bed. I don't want to try and move her. She's getting pretty heavy."

"Yeah... Fine. Let's just go to sleep. I'm tired."

"Hey, what are you doing?" I cried out when he took off his nightgown.

"What?! You expect me to sleep in this after you've blown your nose on it? If you don't want to sleep here, feel free to go to your own room."

It should have been strange lying in bed with an almost naked boy. But then, I didn't even know when sleeping with a fully clothed Wolfram became natural.

"Hey, Wolf," I muttered when I didn't hear the familiar snores coming from his prone figure, "didn't you just say that if something was bothering me I should tell you because you're my fiancé?"

"Yeah, what of it?" he said dismissively.

"Shouldn't that go both ways?"

"Huh?"

"If something is bothering you, shouldn't you tell me?"

He didn't answer. In fact he pretended to snore. I transferred the ball of crumpled cardboard to my left hand, lifted the right one and whacked him on his bottom. He shot up and shot me with an evil glare that evolved into an evilly seductive glare, "Is that slap on the cheek suppose to mean something?"

"Don't try and change the subject. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing is bothering me."

"Are you sure you're not possessed?"

"If I were possessed, do you think I would tell you?"

"Are you angry about Hashimoto?"

"I..."

We sat in silence staring at each other for several long moments. Then he started talking about my school and my friends and what he did on his day there. Starting with small steps was good. I knew he faced fears that I had no answers to. At least, not yet. It was selfish of me to hold on to him without making any promises, but I couldn't let go of him.

If someone were to ask me, 'if you had a chance to go back, knowing what you know now, would you take back the slap?' Most likely no. I was still the same temperamental, stubborn person I was back then. I would have certainly not stand for his rudeness even knowing how much I would care for him later on. And I expect, I still wouldn't want to punch his beautiful face. Had I not engaged him to me, where would we be now? He would have gone back to Bielefeld after making his unpleasant opinions known and I would have ruled Shin Makoku. Perhaps, I would be as successful a king without him. Perhaps not. But I was certain, life would have certainly been duller. And probably more difficult. I didn't even want to imagine how I would have survived. So if someone were to ask that fateful question. Yes, I would probably slap him again. In fact, I might not even wait until dinner. I might slap him the first time I lay eyes on him.

_So what exactly is bothering you Wolfram von Bielefeld?_

"...so in the end what you have on the form is Politician first, baseball player second and judge as third choice," he related. "I hope those choices were okay. If not, maybe you can talk to the school administrators about correcting it."

"That really doesn't matter, Wolf," I stated.

"What do you mean? This is your future we're talking about."

"I have no future on Earth."

"What are you saying?" he asked disconcerted. "You have a life there and friends that care for you. And a bright future, as long as you study hard of course." Then I understood. The faraway looks, the lack of jealousy, the introspection. I got my wish didn't I? Wolfram understood what my life on Earth was like. For someone as obsessive and possessive as he was, to learn that there was a place in my life he didn't belong to must have been to say the least vexing.

"Wolf, my future is here in Shin Makoku with my kingdom, with my people, with my family, with you and Greta. I will always visit Mom and Dad and Shouri and perhaps see my friends, but I have no future there. What kind of a king would I be if I did not give my full attention to the kingdom? I won't ever go to college there because I won't work there. In fact, I had been thinking about quitting high school altogether-- Ow! Now what was that for."

"Don't be a fool, Yuuri. You need to finish school."

"Earth school?"

He crossed his arms in that stubborn way of his. "I hate to say it, but you shouldn't quit. I forget because we look to be the same age that you're still only a child. That place you go to, that high school, it's not just a place to learn. It would be wrong of me, your beloved fiancé, to stop you from experiencing life to the fullest. I just think you might regret not spending your youth with your friends. Childhood passes away quickly and you can't get it back again..."

I reached out to rub his upper arm when I noted I still had those cards from the fortune telling machines. I put my hand back down and having nothing else to do fiddled with them.

"Hashimoto Asami," he said the name without bitterness. "I know there is nothing between you and her. But... you know, she knows how to cook. And she is a double-black, she goes to a prestigious school so she must be intelligent and wealthy. I don't know what else is valued over there in that world of yours... I understand why you keep your options opened. That's all."

I absentmindedly reread the fortunes: "Perseverance pays off. To lift a heavy object, brains are more useful than brawns. Big jobs are not done by the work of one big person but by the hard work of many regular persons. Don't be a fool, stay in school. There are no magical solutions."

For the first time, a puzzle piece clicked in perfectly.

For the first time in my life, things were crystal clear and I knew exactly what I wanted...

**~~Maou~~**

... I would not normally be able to force control over my actions unless my other self and I become one in our intent. This was the first time that I was completely whole. Questions would arise in the morrow, but I would be remiss not to take advantage. My beloved had made a promise and collecting on that promise was a duty. Nay, it would be an injustice of the highest degree if I failed to fulfill what he and I desired the most.

It was fate. It was destiny. For my angel possessed the semblance of being ready for me, the nightgown was already disposed of, his lips were moist with desire, his eyes held a slight confusion, a question, a disbelief.

"Wolf, I have no future on Earth. You are my future." I reached and touched his face, "C-Can we?" Should I be guilty of a little deceit? In my mind, 'twas not dishonesty. I was myself after all and whether I should speak in this manner or that manner was not misrepresentation. Did Wolfram not request that he would only have me when I was all of myself? And was I not wholly myself at the moment? Nay, it was not deceit.

"Yuuri, what the!!! Hey, where are you putting... gyah! Wimp!"

Yes, my other self and I agreed at this very moment, we had no use for innocence.

Tomorrow would be something else entirely.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**~~Yuuri~~**

I woke up to Günter crying.

"Your Majesty," he wailed. "Your Maaaajesty..."

"Günter," I said standing up. I immediately sat back down. My whole body hurt. "Günter what's wrong?"

"Yoouuur Maajeeestyyy..." he cried again.

I didn't know what to do with a grown man crying so I turned to my bedmate to see if he could help. He must have gotten cold sometime in the night as he was wearing a thick bathrobe. I was thankful that he had been clothed for who knows how badly Günter would have taken it.

"Wolf," I shook him, "wake up."

The only answer was a grunt followed by growling and then snoring. I gave up and returned my attention to my histrionic tutor.

"Günter, what's wrong? I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong?"

I never did find out what was wrong with Günter. Gwendal had come in the room, growled once and dragged my handsome teacher away.

* * *

**Epilogue**

**--Murata--**

She was really lovely if the heads that automatically turned her way as she passed were any indications. Tall, long legged, slender with a face that literally belonged to another world. Her red hair cascaded in silky waves as she turned to look excitedly at some of the gadgets in the restaurant, a cell phone, a Blueberry, an iPod. I could almost hear the gears clicking in her beautiful head.

"Well the experiment is a failure," she said turning her attention back to me "but I have a few seedlings from Audrey. I decided they might make good pets. I am going to give one to Greta for her birthday."

"Would you give me the honor of naming it?"

"Of course, Your Eminence."

"Can you call me Ken? At least, while on Earth. People might think it odd for me to be addressed by such an exalted title."

"Sure... Ken."

End.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I have an epilogue-ish story after this called "My Not-So-First Time". It's a one-shot PWP that would have completed a story that I didn't bother writing. I'll be posting it shortly. It's rated M so you won't see it on the fic list unless you change your settings to include M-rated stories. But you can just follow the link to my profile and you'll see it there.

**_My Not-So-First-Time_ Summary:** Yuuri takes charge of his sex life after learning from a talking plant that the Maou and Wolfram have been having sex for many months and he had been blocking the truth from his memories. This scene would have been the final scene if I actually wrote the freudian-plant-maouram-clueless-Yuuri story. But that scenario (at least the maouram-clueless-Yuuri part) has been overdone.  
This happens several months after "Kyou Kara Wagamama Pu" ends.


End file.
